La Vita Amara
by Angel of Neptune
Summary: AU Day in and day out in a small town in Sicily, Haruka, the fish mangler, provides for the people of Porto Empedocle – a boring old life which gets a twisted turn upon discovering a mermaid late one night by the name of Michiru.
1. Chapter One

**Title:** La Vita Amara

**Author:** Kamel

**Pairing: **Haruka/Michiru

**Word Count: **3000

**Genre:** Romance, Drama

**Rating:** PG-13

**Feedback:** Please and thank you.

**Summary:** AU Day in and day out in a small town in Sicily, Haruka, the fish mangler, provides for the people of Porto Empedocle – a boring old life which gets a twisted turn upon discovering a mermaid late one night by the name of Michiru.

**Chapter One**

Many considered the career of a fish mangler was one that was slowly coming to a slow end, but until then, the young fisherman was going to continue venturing off the coast of Sicily on her boat nearly every evening. She did not mind the smell of the ocean, nor could she ever turn her back to the wind – no she was going to continue her way of life. She would never give up the chance to bask in the wind she felt a part of. She was going to continue to fish, continue to sell her catch in the back of his three wheeled, small truck. The demand was there, the people of Porto Empedocle would still buy her fresh catch over the packaged products shipped to the small grocery stores within the equally as small community. She was not going to quit even though the job in question was not suitable for that of a proper woman, but when had she ever been proper?

The boat was floating peacefully in the usually calm sea, one of her favorite places. The young woman was laying back on the front of her boat, enjoying the warm sunrays; it was an excellent Sunday. The market would be in town tomorrow and she was expected to bring a massive loud of fish in which was typically no problem, today's catch looked to be pretty promising. There was nothing to worry about.

A light chuckle escaped the back of her throat as she stretched her arms over her head and her legs out. She could hear the voices of her friends echoing in her mind if they found out her hard day at work was actually a pleasant snooze in the sun. '_Haruka, you God damn bastard!' _A sly grin played her lips as he sat up, planting his arms behind her arched back and crossed her long, slender legs. She could clearly see Setsuna's reaction – the woman's eyebrow twitching as she struggles to keep her mouth shut, but the older woman would crack, Haruka knew. Setsuna would lecture about how she spent the day slaving away in the ornament shop, tending to crystal figures, clocks, and such. The idea bemused the fisherman; she would deal with her overexcited roommate when the time came.

Glancing at her watch, Haruka frowned. The damn thing was seven minutes off and she could not adjust the hands of it either, she tried countless of times while out here doing her job, but it was no use. The little screw was stuck in place. Luckily the street market was tomorrow, she could return it to the dealer she had bought it from, see if he could work his magic and adjust the minute had. She should not have expected a better watch, finding an ideal watch in one of those markets she would consider a miracle. Appearances wise, they were pretty good watches, but do not expect them to work properly, that is what she had learned over the years. The true nature of glancing at her watch confirmed that it was getting close to lunch time. The town would close down for lunch and for an afternoon nap, Haruka should return to port, even though it would be empty handed. The day was still young and she would be venturing off before the dawn tomorrow morning for an even fresher catch.

"Alright," Haruka grumbled as she pulled herself back onto her feet, her body, having been use to the relaxing posture, protesting slightly as she done so. Even though she had spent the better part of the morning lying around on the boat, she could definitely use a small afternoon nap if Setsuna would allow – knowing her roommate, they probably had some cleaning scheduled. If she knew before hand, Haruka would have made it a point to continue to stay out at sea, but Setsuna knew to be secretive when it came to household chores, clever woman. She could continue to stay out here to avoid the chores that may not even be happening, but then she would miss out on a nicely made lunch and an afternoon nap – she would rather risk it, personally. A nap sounded amazing, a perfect remedy to her early morning and she was probably facing a late night also; she always did the night before the market.

It took a few minutes to stir the boat back into the harbor of Porto Empedocle. It took a few more to double check the boat was properly docked; the last thing she wanted was another fine for unintentionally blocking the water way. Brushing her hands off, Haruka gave a wave to a small group of middle aged men who, in return, gestured her way – locals of the small town where nearly everyone knew everyone else. It would be a miracle if you were able to take a walk anywhere and not be recognized. She started off towards the apartment located only a couple blocks away. It was a ten story building and theirs could be found at the top level, giving them an amazing view of the port and the ocean from their balcony Haruka spent so much time just staring off into space, enjoying the sea breeze.

A downside when encountering a very tiring day, the building had no elevator; it was a slightly older builder. There had been nights Haruka could barely move her legs, but she had to drag herself up what felt like a million flight of stairs. This early afternoon was different, she was relaxed and tackling these stairs was no problem what-so-ever. She took them two at a time as quick as she could, as if she were racing against time itself. She reached the front door of the familiar apartment, panting, and dug through her pockets for her copy of the key. Still panting like a dog, the woman managed to unlock, step in, and shut the door securely behind it – it had a tendency for stay just a smidge open if you literally did not throw your entire body weight against it. The ruckus had alerted the other woman of the household of her arrival.

"Just on time for once," the voice echoed down the hallway, causing a small chuckle to escape Haruka who was hanging up her coat and hat on the hanger before proceeding into the kitchen where lunch was already laid out upon the table.

The tall, tanned woman was already sitting at the table, elbows resting against the wooden top as her chin pressed upon her folded hands. Her eyebrows rose slightly as maroon eyes met teal and Haruka sat down across from her. Immediately, Haruka began devouring her plate of pasta topped with homemade tomato sauce and Setsuna followed suit in a more polite manner. "Are things almost ready for tomorrow?" the long, dark green haired woman asked, spreading a small amount of parmesan cheese over her spaghetti.

Swallowing a mouth full, Haruka nodded in response and picked up a glass of water. After taking a gulp, she sighed with relief. "I just need to head out again later today, and the truck will be ready in the morning. Can you watch the stand for a few minutes tomorrow morning during the market? Need to see a guy about my watch, shouldn't take too long."

"Not a problem," Setsuna answered, shaking her head. "Business is slow in the morning anyway, I can postpone opening time of the shop – doesn't mean you can linger about," she quickly added, pointing her fork in Haruka's direction who shrugged off the warning.

**XX**

The engine of the small truck was rumbling, spurting as if begging to be properly looked at; it would be something Haruka would deal with after the closing of the market, she knew this little thing was probably on its last leg. Pulling up in front of the small party favor shop, Haruka shifted gears and turned the ignition off. Stepping out of the small area given for the driver, Haruka took in a deep breath of the fresh morning air that was hinted with the sea, it was that one thing she loved about this town. It was so close to sea, it did not matter where you were, you still inhaled the scent of the lovely sea. Chuckling lightly to herself, she took the couple of steps to the truck bed and flipped the metal lids open, revealing the massive amounts of ice spread out throughout the bed that separated the different types of sea life she had managed to collect. Returning to the driver seat, Haruka pulled out the scales which she hooked upon the edge of the flipped up top. There, they were ready for business.

Just in time, Setsuna was propping open the door to her small shop and her nose wrinkled in Haruka's direction. She personally did not enjoy the smell of fish, but had learned to deal with it over the last few years since it looked like Haruka definitely was not going to change her mind about her profession any time soon. "Just the man about your watch," she reminded, walking down the small set of steps leading to the front door of the shop. She tried her best not to look at the fish with a sense of disgust. It was the smell she could not stand; she did not mind actually eating these little critters. No, they were quiet tasty.

"Yes, I know," Haruka responded, holding up the wrist the watch in question was strapped upon. "Mrs. Burgio will be here soon, she's always my first customer. The wrapping paper is in the driver's seat – she's going to want a couple pounds of shrimp and maybe some cod or swordfish, that woman is constantly changing."

"Alright, alright, get going," Setsuna replied, waving her friend off. Haruka grinned in return before setting off to locate the dealer she had bought the never truthful watch from. The market wrapped around a few street blocks and the dealers who had migrated from Africa were never in a set spot like any of the other vendors. They were constantly changing spots with each other probably to keep a sense of something new in the one a week market place. Haruka kept her fish wagon in the same place for years, against Setsuna's wishes. It would be difficult to relocate. Space was limited and her customers already knew she would be in front of the party favor shop anyway. Why bother with the change?

As predicted, the man was not in the same spot her was in last week. Instead of dealing watches, there was another man with pirated DVDs – she would check those out later, right now, she had to hurry to get her watch fixed and back to her stand. She could not allow herself to be distracted, but the same second that thought had crossed her mind, something else had catch her attention – a small stand, must have been a fold out table, draped with a white cloth with different patches of scales set upon it all set at ridiculous prices. The ragged man caught her eye and smiled his toothless grin through slightly foggy grayish blue eyes. It looked like he had not bathed in weeks and the stench burned her nose, the stench of rotting fish and mold and in an attempt to make himself look decent, he tried to pat down his ragged black hair.

"Mermaid," he said, waving his hand over the scales with a barely audible lunatic laugh. "Caught off the shores of Porto Empedocle – a fair creature of pale skin," he replied, nodding furiously at Haruka who had taken a small step back (whether or not if it was due to the man's behavior or the smell, she was not sure of herself). "Long aqua hair and captive, beautiful, lurking blue eyes, rendering the hearts of men everywhere weak," he continued, keeping up his his nodding.

Haruka did not come any closer to the makeshift stand, her subconscious would not allow it, the stench was just too much for her. From where she was standing, however, the scales did not look different from some of the catches she had encountered throughout her fishing lifetime – one patch, she swore, was just that from a swordfish itself. She must have had a sense of disbelief portrayed in her body language because the man had quickly picked up on it – he was probably a master of picking the non-believers. "I've seen her with my own eyes – Michiru, she told me, she's called, a Princess of the sea-"

"I don't have time for this," Haruka finally replied. Now was not to time to hear some cock and bull mermaid legend.

"Please, mister, perhaps if you buy a scale?" he offered, picking up a patch delicately. Shaking her head, Haruka continued on her way. If she wanted a patch of swordfish scales, Haruka was more than capable to catch her very own. The sad thing was, tourist may fall victim to this man's tale and if they were willing to pay that much for scales that could be found anywhere, then it was a very sad situation in deed, but it was not her problem. Her problem was this damn watch and its fantastic ability to not tell time correctly.

"You believe me don't you?" the man had actually taken the liberty to follow after Haruka, furthering questioning the authenticity of the scales he claimed become to a half woman half fish of legends. "You're a local fisherman, you've seen the maiden, haven't you?"

"No," Haruka said simply, but he was still following her. "Mamoru," she stated clearly turning around for the final time, stopping him in his tracks, she did not want to have to reason with the town's nutter once more. "Are you even listening to yourself? A mermaid? Someone who's half fish and half human? There's no such thing, stop selling swordfish scales to tourists – go home and relax."

"You don't believe because you haven't seen with your eyes the beauty of the sea's maiden – she exists," he reassured. Haruka tried desperately to not roll her eyes at the man. He had been through too much, Mamoru had lost himself long ago, the whole town was aware.

"I don't have time for this, I need to get back to my stand," she claimed. Actually, she needed to find the man who dealt her this watch before returning to the truck, but she had no reason of sharing this information with him. "Now, I have to be on my way." Haruka began on her search once more, half surprised that Mamoru had left her alone this time. He had returned to his makeshift stand, leaving Haruka be at last. She should have known better than to have stopped, Mamoru was notorious for latching on to anyone who would listen, Haruka was well aware of this, but her common sense had momentarily left her. That was her fault entirely, but it was usually more difficult to shake him off also – maybe he was finally realizing no one did believe his ridiculous stories of finding legendary creatures whether it be at sea or in the Italian Alps. The town could only hope.

After a couple more rounds around the place (maybe the dealer in question was late to set up), Haruka, slightly annoyed, decided to give up her hunt and recent back to the party favor shop. It had taken her a bit longer to return back to the shop since she had decided it would be best to avoid Mamoru all together on the return. She did not need to be stopped again with the same outrageous claim, once was enough for anyone.

"There you are!" Setsuna called out as the truck came into view when Haruka turned the corner. "What took you so long? I have a potential customer," she hissed and gesturing towards her shop, lowering her voice as Haruka drew closer. The party favor industry was a slow one, but party favors were part of the Italian tradition, even the smallest of towns had at least one party favor shop.

"Mamoru," Haruka said, holding up her arms.

Setsuna snorted at her in response, the story was believable. She, herself, had been stopped by Mamoru as well a few weeks ago about a yetti in the mountains mainland. It was a preposterous story; the whole town was certain he hadn't even been to the mainland before in his life. He was born here in Porto Empedocle, never left the island of Sicily, and no one was sure what had happened to him from then until now. He had been a very respectable a man, a very intelligent doctor in the local hospital. Things changed drastically when a friend of his, another doctor, Dr. Tomoe, took him out upon the sea on a boat he had just recently purchased. Whatever happened on the boat, Mamoru lost everything afterwards.

Grabbing a sheet of the wrapper paper, Setsuna wiped her hands clean in a poor attempt to rid herself of the fishy smell that they had been engulfed with. "What was it this time?" she asked. It was one of those situations where you did not want to ask, but you wanted to know at the same time. After crumpling the paper into a ball, she tossed it at Haruka, already making her way into her shop.

Haruka snorted, catching the rolled up sheet of paper. "A mermaid," she called after, throwing the trash through the window of the truck and into the driver's seat. "A maiden of fair skin and blue hair… or something of the other," she shrugged her shoulders.

_**To Be Continued**_


	2. Chapter Two

**Title:** La Vita Amara

**Author:** Kamel

**Pairing: **Haruka/Michiru

**Word Count: **3,600

**Genre:** Romance, Drama

**Rating:** PG-13

**Feedback:** Please and thank you.

**Notes:** All the cultural information based in this fic is from the knowledge I've acquired while spending my childhood summers in Italy (ten miles away from Porto Empedocle, Sicily to be exact).

**Summary:** AU Day in and day out in a small town in Sicily, Haruka, the fish mangler, provides for the people of Porto Empedocle – a boring old life which gets a twisted turn upon discovering a mermaid late one night by the name of Michiru.

**Chapter Two**

Returning inside the party favor shop, Setsuna quickly turned on the air conditioner, emitting the cool breeze into the small area. The hot, humid weather was only beginning to peek its ugly head; during the summer, both Setsuna and Haruka spent as much time as possible in the shop since their apartment was did not have an air conditioner. It simply had a fan. The humid heat was bearable, by if given the choice, they would rather be comfortable than hot and sticky and it was not worth to have a separate unit to be installed in the apartment, it was too expensive. Even in the shop they sometimes went without it, but having a potential customer, Setsuna wanted them to be as comfortable as possible and that meant being cool and refresh without having to deal with the smell of fish; Setsuna had closed the shop's glass door behind her.

"Welcome, - ah! Dr. Tomoe!" Setsuna's voice elevated upon realizing who her potential customers were – the young, good looking silver haired (with a small hint of lavender) doctor and his equally as beautiful daughter, Hotaru. Much horrid rumors surrounded their family and Souichi Tomoe had lost a lot of respect as a doctor due to the mysterious incident concerning Mamoru Chiba's mental health. No one believed he did not lay a hand on Mamoru that night on the boat, Souichi had no idea what happened that night. He had gone through so much difficulty if this life, his wife died in an electrical fire in their home five years ago, he did not need this issue with a nutcase former colleague. "To what happy occasion do I own this visit to?" she asked, clapping her hands together as she smiled widely.

Hotaru kept on admiring the different shapes of crystals behind the locked the cabinets, but Souichi turned around, giving Setsuna a small smile in return. "Ms. Meioh, it's been a while, has it not?" he replied, extending his hand towards her. Setsuna took it gingerly.

"Yes, Hotaru's First Holy Communion, I remember – is it finally time for Confirmation?" Setsuna asked, amazed on how time flew by; she could still recall the small girl running around town with the other children, playing soccer in the streets or walking with her mother to the bakery for that night's dinner's loaf of bread. Watching the girl examine a shelf filled with crystallized animals, Setsuna's smile grew more genuine and warm. "My, have you grown, Hotaru, you're looking more and more like Keiko every day."

That statement caused the young teenager to look away from the crystallized firefly she had been admiring. "Thank you, Ms. Meioh," she said quietly, bowing her head slightly. "You have really pretty crystals in here; do you recommend anything in particular perhaps?"

"Traditionally," Setsuna began, leading the two to another cabinet across the room from the crystallized animal bits. "We use a grain of wheat to symbolize Confirmation, but as a whole, we have been moving away from what is traditionally to what is fashionable," she explained, gesturing back towards the small animal figurines.

Souichi met his daughter eye. "Keiko would have stuck to tradition," he answered, looking back towards Setsuna. "What do you think of this one, Hotaru?" he asked, pointing towards the crystallized grain of wheat with a silver stem, it was not the firefly she had been eyeing, but Hotaru knew it would be rather impossible to talk her father away from the traditionally sense.

"I like it," she answered automatically, barely even looking at the figurine in question. Souichi did not notice, his attention was already back upon the woman in front of him.

"We're going to look around the market for a little while, shopping," he stated, shrugged his shoulders. "But we will be back before noon with a verdict; can we count on you to be here, Ms. Meioh?"

"Please, it's Setsuna, Dr. Tomoe," she replied, grinning as she walked the two to the front door of the shop. "And yes, I will be here until about 12:30. If you do miss me, the shop reopens at 4:30," she explained, remaining at the top of the steps. Souichi turned around slightly to wave her farewell; Hotaru was already walking towards the market. He waved as he past Haruka who tried not to stare intently – the curiosity that engulfed her encountering Mamoru had arisen again. It was the town's official mystery after all. Well, unofficial.

Folding her arms over her chest, Setsuna leaned against the frame of the door, watching the father and daughter disappear around the corner – that is when Haruka tossed down a hunk of salmon and wiped the residue onto her already filthy wife beater. "What does the town's mad scientist want with the local party favor store?" she questioned, eyebrows furrowed.

"Mad scien- Haruka!" Setsuna hissed, rolling her eyes in disgust at her friend's ignorance. "He is a nice man and a single partner who is balancing a very stress job while being the main figure in his daughter's life. I don't understand why this town jumps to accusations."

In return, Haruka rolled her own eyes at Setsuna's general direction before checking on her watch; the morning rush had died down a lot earlier than what she would have expected and that probably had a tie in with Souichi's arrival to the shop, no doubt. "Have you seen Mamoru Chiba lately? He was a brilliant intern studying under Dr. Tomoe until that night on the boat – his wife left him, taking their daughter, for some rock star in Rome. Tomoe did something to him that night, he's not alright – always rambling on about mermaids and yettis, wait until he discovers there's also big foot or the Frankenstein monster he could be claiming are real about."

"Mamoru Chiba cracked from the pressure of being a doctor," Setsuna said logically. "He was distraught that night – he lost his first patient, I'm pretty sure having someone die under your watch, you wouldn't be too peachy afterwards."

After removing the scale and placing it carefully upon the driver's seat, Haruka pulled the metal lids back over the truck bed in order to keep the remaining sea creatures fresh for the future potential customers she would be having, none of which would be mad scientist. "I understand you feel pretty damn shitty after losing someone," she remarked. She had been there herself – her mother had been deathly ill for the longest while. There was nothing that could have been done for her, even if she did want medical attention (which the batty old woman refused many of times), it would not have done any justice; it was simply her time to go. "But to the point of losing your sanity? He may be a good looking man, just about your age, Setsuna, but you gotta look past that – things aren't adding up."

"And why in the world are you jumping to that accusation?" Setsuna had demanded in a grumble before turning around and heading back inside the shop to turn off the air conditioning – they did not exactly need a high electric bill this month, summer had barely started.

**XX**

"No, they are scales from the mermaid, from Michiru!" Mamoru found himself having to reassure yet another person. These were rare scales; they were authentic scales from the lovely sea maiden. "The maiden with a voice that compares to God's choir of angels-!"

"Now, Dr. Chiba…" the local nun he had been trying to prove his story to replied, shaking her head. "You should not compare sea creatures to the Lord or His angels, you may anger Him. Why did you check out of the facility, Dr. Chiba? You still need our help –"

Now it was Mamoru's turn to shake his head. He picked up one of the patches of scales from the wobble table and forced it into the nun's face. "Sister Rei!" he exclaimed. "I know what I'm talking about! She exists – Michiru exists! These are her scales!" he said almost hysterically, his voice beginning to crack. He grabbed the nun by the shoulder. Rei immediately tried to pull away from his firm grasp, but he was overpowering. Before the crazed obsessed man could do anything to physically harm the woman of God, Mamoru's hand was pried away from her shoulder. Rei, who had tightly closed her eyes upon the assault, looked up, acknowledging she was now face-to-face with Souichi Tomoe's back.

Souichi's grasp around Mamoru's wrist tightened as he pushed the other man back against the makeshift stand. He watched his former colleague fumble back onto the table, causing the four already poor legs to cave in, bringing both the table and Mamoru onto the dirty street below. "That's enough, Chiba, you're hurting innocent people," he remarked in a firm tone as Hotaru led Rei back a few steps.

Mamoru winced from the crash against the ground, but sat up. His eyes widened at the voice and a growl escaped the back of his throat as his hunch was confirmed that it was indeed his old mentor. "You! Souichi! Tell them! Tell them about the mermaid! Tell them about Michiru! You saw her!" he barked widely.

"Chiba, I do not know what you saw that night, but this has gone on far enough," Souichi said calmly, standing over the fallen man. He was not about to hurt anyone else, the good doctor was going to make sure of that. "You have already lost Usagi and Chibi-Usa because of this nonsense, you need to get your life back in order, old friend – you need help whether or not you choose to accept that fact. This is getting out of hand."

"You bastard!" Mamoru raged, pounding his fist against the street. Souichi had seen her also, he knew Souichi saw Michiru – they had been together that night on the boat, Mamoru called him over and together they admired the fair maiden's goddess-like beauty, how could he disregard all that? Every muscle in his body tensed as Souichi grabbed him by the collar to pull him back onto his feet; he was glaring at him through his thick glasses.

"Do not address me as such in front of my daughter," he requested, glancing from the corner of his eye towards Rei who had wrapped her arms around Hotaru protectively.

"Bastard," Mamoru continued to murmur under his breath and he bent over to pick up the patches of scales that had been scattered onto the ground due to the fall and crash, the precious scales of the fair maiden, why did no one believe him? He knew what he saw. Souichi knew what he saw, yet he refuses everything. "I'll show you. I'll Usagi, Seiya… I'll show this whole God damn town and then it will be me laughing at all of you. Mark my words," he grumbled to himself, dragging himself away from the crowded market. Souichi allowed him, as long as he was no longer harming anyone, it did not matter what Mamoru got himself into. Souichi turned around, back to face the local nun and his daughter. Hotaru immediately grabbed him in a tight hug.

"It is one of God's laws that we treat our neighbors the way we would want to be treated, Dr. Tomoe," Rei pointed out, lacing her fingers together with each other. "The sin you have kept secret against Dr. Chiba, you must cleanse your soul with God's grace, rid yourself of the sin you have committed against Mamoru-"

"Sister Rei, I have done nothing against Mamoru," Souichi replied. It was the same conversation, alerted slightly, he had been having since the incident on the boat, since Mamoru lost his mind. Nearly everyone believed he had done something to the man, but Souichi claimed otherwise. He did not lay a hand on Mamoru, he never would (sans the moment that had just occurred between them, but Souichi was positive Mamoru would have done something to the sister).

"God's arms are always open for all his children, Docto-"

Souichi shook his head in Rei's direction as he held onto Hotaru's hand. "Come on, firefly, I think we've seen too much excitement for one day."

**XX**

Noon had quickly rolled on in, Haruka had just sold the last of her early morning's catch and was preparing to be the small truck back away into storage until next week. Setsuna was doing her best not to look anxious; she dusted off different cabinets and shelves the Tomoe's would be interested in viewing. Souichi said traditional, but she had caught Hotaru's wrinkle nose and had decided to clean the crystallized animal display case a bit for show.

12:30 came and went, still no sign of the Tomoe's. Haruka and returned from her garage space, ready to walk Setsuna back to the apartment where they would prepare lunch, but Setsuna had managed to assure Haruka that she had work that really needed to be done in the shop. Haruka was reluctant at first, saying the woman had to have something to eat. After promising Setsuna would pick something up from the bakery, Haruka and left to the apartment on her own, leaving Setsuna to wait on her own.

She watched from the glass door as the other business began to shut down for the afternoon so the owners could enjoy a nice, peaceful lunch with their families and possibly a mid-afternoon nap, one that Setsuna desperately craved for at this point. Market days were always a bit more stressful than the rest of the week – it was the one day Haruka insisted on waking up at an ungodly hour and make a ruckus around the apartment; she was not the graceful of all human begins, she would say and leave it at that.

The time slowly ticked by, seconds grew into minutes and minutes into hours, but Setsuna could have sworn days and weeks had crept past her; she always lost her sense of time. At quarter to five, the businesses around were reopening slowly. A bit past five, Haruka had returned, completely refreshed from the nap she had just taken, with today's newspaper in hand. "Did you eat?" she asked.

"Yes," Setsuna lied, mindlessly flipping through the one of many party favor order books she had laying out. She had begun marking the pages that would be of interest if the family of two were to return. Haruka frowned at her, one that went unnoticed since Setsuna did not even bother looking up. She went to the back of the store to locate a folding chair. The task was simple, simpler than it usually was – did Setsuna reorganize the backroom while she was at it? Damn. Haruka lifted the chair up, knowing the other woman would bicker if she attempted to drag it across the clean marble floor. She opened the chair and placed it on the small front porch after propping the door open. The late afternoon was always cooler, more durable.

With a sigh of relief upon sitting down on the chair, Haruka leaned back, stretching out and folding her legs. "Did you hear?" she called over her shoulder towards the other woman still inside the building. "Mamoru nearly attacked Sister Rei. The rumor is Souichi put him in his place."

"What?" Setsuna looked up from the book; Haruka had caught her full attention with that statement. Marking the page, she closed the catalog and stood up from behind the counter, making her way outside. "Where did you hear this?" she asked, sitting down on the very top step as Haruka began to look through the day's newspaper – probably trying to locate last night's lottery numbers.

Frowning upon the confirmation that the numbers on her ticket did not matching with any of the winners, Haruka folded the paper back up and rested it upon her lap. "At the bar," she answered. It was not unusually from Haruka to wake up from an afternoon nap and head over to the nearest local part for a quick card game (normally, she lost, but hey, maybe luck would be on her side one day). "Happened in the market place apparently. Mamoru was trying to sell his story to the Sister, Souichi got annoyed and slugged him a good one."

"Souichi wouldn't do something like that, I think that's just a rumor," Setsuna responded, holding her hands together to rest her chin upon. "He's not the type of man to harm a fly."

"I'm sure he inherited the nickname mad scientist because he's a very cuddly man," Haruka scoffed. "Mamoru was his intern, he was extremely gifted – rumors of him taking over as head doctor may have gotten to Souichi, you ever think of that?"

"Swear to God, Haruka, you're just like the rest of the town," Setsuna murmured as she shook her head and rolled her eyes, snatching the newspaper from her friend's lap now that she was done checking her lottery numbers. "I do believe Mamoru has sustained some head trauma, yes, but I don't think Souichi was the one behind all of it – you've seen him with his daughter, he's a family man, a good man. Can't believe none of you can see any of that."

Haruka gazed over her shoulder towards her roommate, wondering just where in the world that annoyed spark came from. Folding her arms over her chest, she sighed heavily, leaning back in the chair, balancing her weight on the back legs. "Alright, alright, alright," she murmured. "I'm heading back out to sea tonight, a special order for that one restaurant near Realmonte. They're having a wedding reception, twelve courses. I'll be back before the dawn."

These occurrences were not rare. Haruka took any chance she could that involved money at the end of the equation. Setsuna had gotten use to the odd hours she kept and was more than grateful that she herself kept normal business hours. The older woman stood back up and turned towards the building. "Maybe you'll see a mermaid, then you can join Mamoru in the market with the swordfish scales."

"Swordfish scales are overrated…"

**XX**

Haruka hung around for at least another hour before returning back to the apartment to catch a few more hours of sleep before her nightly adventure, leaving Setsuna alone to close up the shop. Setsuna did not like the idea of walking back to the apartment alone, most of the untrustworthy scum of the town crept out during the nightly hours; this was a strange town at night, which was for certain. "Okay," she murmured, pulling on her coat upon stepping out of the now obviously closed shop. Setsuna double checked the door was locked (crime was beginning to spike and small businesses was at the top of the lists). Her shop in particular had a lot of crystal, silver, gold and all sorts of expensive pieces.

"Doors locked," she mumbled to herself before pulling down the metal cage over the door.

"I take it I'm a little late then…"

Though the voice was soft, the fact that someone was standing behind her made her stomach wrench horrible. Setsuna quickly whirled around to be facing Souichi Tomoe had the foot of the steps, smiling apolitically, his trench coat pulled over his normal doctor attire (dress pants and a dress shirt sans a lab coat). Her tensed shoulders immediately relaxed and she brought her hand to her chest, sighing in relief. "Dr. Tomoe, you gave me quiet the fright."

"Please, Setsuna, call me Souichi," he replied with a small chuckle. "I'm sorry for both this and forgetting about our previous appointment, I was distracted – there was an incident in town and I really do not want to be making excuses."

"I've heard rumors," Setsuna replied, locking the metal gate in place. She straightened herself out and walked down the steps to the good doctor. "It's alright, we're open six days a week-"

"Have you had any dinner?" The question caught Setsuna by slight surprise, a bit off guard, and Souichi's voice, which had once been firm, was now a tiny bit shaky. He ignored her remark about the rumors, there were always rumors, they were nothing new to him – though he was a bit interested in what the towns people came up with this time. Their eyes locked momentarily, Setsuna was the first to look away as a small smile played her lips.

"No," she answered, gazing back up.

"Do you care to join me? There's a small place I know along the beach," Souichi asked, trying to hide his tone of eagerness and the sense of hope in his voice. Setsuna was a balanced woman, a business owner and very interesting in his eyes. He wanted to get to know her better and dinner would be a fantastic start.

The grin grew genuinely upon Setsuna's facial features. She could feel a light blush burning her cheeks. "Yeah, I would definitely like that," she nodded.

_**To Be Continued**_


	3. Chapter Three

**Title:** La Vita Amara

**Author:** Kamel

**Pairing: **Haruka/Michiru

**Word Count: **3,600

**Genre:** Romance, Drama

**Rating:** PG-13

**Feedback:** Please and thank you.

**Notes:** All the cultural information based in this fic is from the knowledge I've acquired while spending my childhood summers in Italy (ten miles away from Porto Empedocle, Sicily to be exact).

**Summary:** AU Day in and day out in a small town in Sicily, Haruka, the fish mangler, provides for the people of Porto Empedocle – a boring old life which gets a twisted turn upon discovering a mermaid late one night by the name of Michiru.

**Chapter Three**

The location of the restaurant in question could have been a bit more distinct, it was definitely along the beach, Setsuna simply assumed it would have been along the beach of Porto Empedocle. She had been mistaken; they had taken the relative short car ride to the even smaller town of Realmonte and did their best not to make any noise as they cross the ten mile radius to the other side. Souichi then drove a bit more, towards Menssina, but came to a stop at the massive, five star restaurant just off the road; the very same restaurant Haruka was scheduled to make a deliver the following morning (the driver would take much longer in that little truck of hers, they definitely needed a decent set of wheels for themselves, but the money simply was not there). They enjoyed a good dinner, Setsuna was impressed by the service and the food, she had never been to this place to eat before, she had accompanied Haruka on delivers went it permits.

After dinner, they spent time walking along the beach, even stopped at an ice cream pallor for a bit of dessert. Needless to mention, both have lost track of time. Souichi had a nanny to deal with and Haruka was probably going to wake up soon. The drive back into Porto Empedocle had been a silent one, but nowhere near awkward. Souichi shifted the car into park and immediately opened the car door for Setsuna. He took a hold of her offered hand and pulled her to her feet. Both smiling, Souichi walked her to the front door of the apartment as Setsuna dug her keys out of her purse. Once she found them, she grinned and held them up.

"Well, I had a pleasant evening," Souichi commented, rubbing the back of his neck as he chuckled.

Setsuna giggled slightly, covering her mouth. This was a side of the doctor, she was sure, only Hotaru was ever allowed to witness. That realization caused a warm wave to come over her. He had been open with her, talked a bit about his line of work (as did she), about his home life (being the proud papa he was) and what had really happened in town today (Haruka had got it all wrong). Setsuna had been right, everyone in this town was so keen on jumping to conclusions – Souichi was just protecting Sister Rei from Mamoru, he did not lay a hand on him. "As did I," Setsuna replied reassuring with a nod, her deep maroon colored eyes met the doctor's glasses hidden ones.

"Maybe we could do this again sometime – what day did you say the shop is closed? Sunday?" Souichi asked, summoning up his courage.

The dark green haired woman nodded in response, leaning up against the apartment building door. "And on the seventh day he rested," Setsuna quoted. "Actually, in my case, that's a lie. The shop may not be open, but I have orders to be filling," she quickly admitted with a goofy smile, shrugging her shoulders. The orders could sometimes be overwhelming, but Haruka normally stepped in with aid – she was learning how to fold the fabric nicely now if Setsuna did say so herself. It was something one had to work at.

"Seem like you do not get much time to yourself," Souichi noted.

Setsuna shook her head. "I normally have all the time in the world to myself, actually. It's usually a one person job."

"You would be willing to make it two?" Souichi offered. "I could bring dinner over maybe and I still need to search for Hotaru's party favors…"

"I have a ton of catalogs marked out for the occasion you could look at," Setsuna informed, her slender hand wrapping around the handle of the door as she pushed it open just a crack. The woman, however, nearly flew back when it was yanked open. She yelped, slipping back into the familiar arms of her roommate. Her eyes immediately widened, Haruka was also surprised – she figured the door had gotten stuck again if anything.

"I was wondering where you've been," Haruka noted, glancing from her roommate to Souichi. It was needless to say the younger woman was not pleased by the sight of the doctor, not after what she figured happened in town earlier that day. Setsuna should have known better than to be around him alone – what if he had done something to her? "No call, nothing."

"Didn't realize you had transformed into my mother," the older woman remarked, folding her arms over her chest as she glared at her roommate. "Even then, I've a grown capable woman – I need to get to sleep," she stated, shaking her head. She turned to Souichi with a small, warm smile. "I'll see you Sunday, doctor. Goodnight."

Souichi waved slightly in return, flashing an equally as small smile. He watched as Setsuna turned around and disappeared into the dark apartment. Once the door closed, the windows illuminated brightly and the heels clanking against each step could her heard faintly. The smile disappeared slowly when he realized Haruka was still glaring at him. "Ms. Tenoh, are you heading out at sea this late?" he asked, taking a glance at his watch.

The frown continued to grace Haruka's features as her glare meet the doctor's eyes. Souichi tucked his hands into his pockets and shrugged his shoulders slightly at the woman. Haruka scoffed. "Late? This is the perfect time for a catch; I have an order to fill."

"Are you planning to stay out the whole night?" Souichi asked, holding out a hand towards Haruka. "The bars are still open; I would like to offer a cup of espresso. You may need it."

Was this man serious? Haruka glanced down at the offered hand and glared back up towards Souichi, he was unbelievable – how could Setsuna deal with him? This nice guy act, what was he trying to pull? Arms folded over her chest, she walked past him – it was a short walk to the docks from the apartment, only a couple of blocks; a path she had taken many times before, a path she could take literally blindfolded if she had to. "Go home, Tomoe," she replied. "There are cheaper party favor shops over in Agrigento, I suggest you look into them," she remarked over her shoulder before turning the corner. If the damn guy attempted to follow her, Haruka had no problem shoving her fist into him; he was the town's creep – the mad scientist who created the town's loony bin. She tried not to think about it, she tried to clear her head. Going out at sea with things clouding her mind was not an enjoyable time at sea in her opinion.

A soft mumbled came to her ears, causing Haruka to look up, becoming more alert as she approached the docks – the mumbling continued over the soft clashes of the waves hitting against the docks. Her steps began to slow down, coming up to her boat. The mumbling had grown even louder and Haruka stopped a dark figure sitting on the edge, peering over into the water. Arms dropping to her side, Haruka stopped in her tracks as the frown returned.

"Come on… come on… I know you're there, please come out…"

Haruka leaned to the side, placing one hand on her hip when the voice became clearly recognizable. "Mamoru, what are you doing out here?" she demanded, her eyebrows furrowed. The man did response; he continued to murmur into the murky ocean. Haruka called out to him again, but nothing. After a few more moments of nothing but the murmuring into the water, Haruka shook her head before boarding her boat.

**XX**

The fisherwoman figured that Mamoru would even bother to look up as the boat literally right next to him pulled out of the docks, but it did not engage a reaction from the man. This was normal behavior for Mamoru these days, Haruka tried to convince herself as she stirred the boat out into the ocean; his mind was always elsewhere thinking about mystical creatures, everyone knew that – why was she now over concerned about his state of mind? Was it the mystery behind the whole story? How no one knew what truly happened between the two men? How did Souichi torture Mamoru into that horrible state of mind and for what purpose? It was after Souichi's wife's death – did the doctor come up with a sick, twisted theory of Mamoru being the one behind the fire and this was his revenge? There were many rumors floating about, floating about and reproducing.

Haruka gazed over her shoulder to the long disappeared coast line of Porto Empedocle where Mamoru sit sat on the docks, blabbing into the water. His once bright and shining blue eyes were now dull with a hint of cloudy gray. His slender hand reached into the water, towards his sickly reflection – his once handsome figure was now distorted, he was barely recognizable among his former colleagues. The tips of his fingers brushed against the surface of the water, causing his reflection to vanish. It was replaced by a flash of long, aquamarine hair causing his dull eyes to lit up with fire immediately; he furthered his reach, pushing his body off the dock as he dove for the sudden color change. It was her, she answered. He inhaled deeply, wanting to call out her beautiful name, but it was futile, his lungs instantly began to fill with rushing sea water.

"_You want to head out now, Souichi? You do realize it is late, right? It's Chibi-Usa's birthday tomorrow and Usako will be upset if I don't return home-"_

"_Mamoru, ever since you got married, you have been more worried about Usagi's wants, but what about your own?" Souichi replied, giving his intern a small smile as the two men walked out of the hospital, away from the long hectic day duty. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Souichi watched as Mamoru slipped on his black leather jacket. "There is a full moon tonight; the sea is going to be astonishing – I promise it won't take long."_

_The other man chuckled lightly as they made their way to the parking lot. Mamoru glanced over at his car and then over at his colleague. He shrugged his shoulders before striding over to the passenger seat of the good doctor's car. "Alright, but I can't be home too late, Souichi."_

"_Don't worry, Mamoru," Souichi replied. "You're going to enjoy this new boat."_

_The drive from the hospital to the dock had been a short one; everything was relatively a short distance away from everything else in this small town. Both men walked along the docks until Souichi lead him into a small personal boat. Mamoru had not been with the hospital very long and most of his pay when towards paying off the home he shared with his wife, but everyone knew Mamoru would love to have a small boat of his own to take out at sea whenever he felt like it. The sea had a very calming effect on the people of this small town and Mamoru was no different. Once the house was paid off, he would run the idea past Usagi to see what she thought, but as of now, he could only hitch rides with friends – normally the local fisherman, well fisherwoman, gave him a ride every now and again._

_With the engine rumbling softly, they pulled out of the docks before they were able to pick up speed. Mamoru leaned back in his seat and tilted his head up, inhaling the salty sea breeze as it whisked through his short dark hair. This is what he enjoyed. He sighed heavily, feeling his tensed muscles beginning to relax – suddenly the man who had vomited all over his lab coat really did not matter – lab coats could be washed. _

"_What did I tell you?" Souichi replied, laughing as the boat came to a slow stop._

_In return, Mamoru chuckled lightly as he scanned the opened ocean. From the corner of his eye, he witness the flapping of a fin breaking the surface of the water. "Hmm?" He turned his head towards the general direction just in time to see the eyes of a pale woman peek from the water. Mamoru tapped his fellow doctor on the shoulder and pointed towards the woman. Why would someone be swimming all the way out here? It was pretty dangerous._

_A small smile played the woman's thin lips as she raised herself from the water, her long aquamarine hair fell forward over her shoulders, covering her bare naked breasts. Needless to say, this caught the attention of Mamoru and Souichi. They did not recognize the woman; she was not from the small town where everyone literally knew everyone else. "Umm, miss…what are you doing all the way out here?" Mamoru was actually able to ask without stuttering, a feat he should be proud of._

_The woman, who continued to smile at the two, tilted her head to the side. She lowered herself back into the water and stroked her arms out and to the side, bringing herself closer to the boat. "What's your name, ma'am?" Souichi, in turn, questioned as the first went unanswered. _

_Mysterious laced aquamarine eyes met the bewildered blue of the intern, causing her smile to grow slightly as she lifted her chin. "Michiru," she replied in an angelic-like voice. Mamoru felt his breath hitch a little. The woman giggled slightly before taking a dive back into the water. Instead of seeing just as perfect long slender legs, the men's eyes widened at the deep blue fin that followed – Mamoru had even stood up and leaned over the front of the boat. She reappeared on the other side of the boat to meet the eyes of Souichi. She winked at him as Mamoru nearly threw himself into his colleague. They watched as the woman twirled a couple of times in the water, amused. Mamoru grabbed Souichi's upper arm tightly, mesmerized by the sea goddess before them. The mermaid who had called herself Michiru leaned back, allowing herself to sink into the water where she disappeared._

"_You saw that?" Mamoru gasped, his eyes still wide, watching the patch of water the mermaid had disappeared into. "That was a-" _

"_Mamoru, sit down, please, you'll turn the boat-"_

"_How can you be so calm?" Mamoru demanded as Souichi forcefully pushed him back into his seat. "That was a mermaid!" Souichi gunned the engine back into lift and, just as quickly, turned the boat around. The roar of the engine drowned out the yelp and cry of the woman._

Mermaid.

She came back to him.

A smirk played his paling face as Mamoru continued to sink like a rock to the bottom of the water, his eyes wide. After all these years, she came back to him; he was not a liar, he had no just seen things in his head, she was real. He could prove to everyone she was real. He felt a pair of arms wrap around his chest, just under his arms. A force was now pulling him up towards the surface. Stinging, his eyes drew to a close as they broke through the surface.

**XX**

With a mighty heave, Haruka had tossed the nets off both sides of the ship. Now it was a simple game of sit and wait, the part that could be painfully slow if the player was not prepared and, well, there was not much to do during the moonlit night, but Haruka was use to the boring, silent nights – they were frequent in her line of work being that she was often alone, Setsuna did not accompany her during these late night raids, not while trying to maintain the shop.

A small yawn managed to escape her; maybe she could have used a cup of espresso - definitely not with the company who offered it to her, but she should have stopped for a cup of espresso, simple naps were not cutting it anymore. Haruka lowered her head into her hand and rubbed her eyes furiously, she just got out at sea, and she could not be getting tired now. This was going to be a long night, she could already determine. "Man," she murmured to herself, walking to the front of the boat. Normally, it was one of her favorite places to lie down and get lost in her own world. That was perfectly fine during the day when she was wide awake, but not in the middle of the night where she was fighting back bouts of sleep already.

Her shoulders slumped forward as she climbed onto the front of the boat anyway, casting a glance back over her shoulder towards the nets casted over the side. This job had caused her to work on her patience, she had no choice but to work on her patience – you cannot rush this sort of thing in her opinion. She leaned back, propping herself up with her hands as her teal eyes gazed out towards the ocean, highlighted by the full moon. Everything was brighter; this was her favorite night, the night of the full moon.

"Hmm?"

Something out of the ordinary caught her eye, there was something floating in the middle of the water. Haruka sat up straight, leaning forward slightly as whatever was afloat drew closer. It was a limp figure, she concluded, but it was moving a bit too fast. Whatever it was, it was being dragged along. "What?" she murmured to herself as the figure came into a clearer view. Mamoru? It was Mamoru, what was he doing in the – what was dragging him?

Teal eyes immediately grew wide. The aquamarine haired sea goddess. Haruka felt her breath hitch, her heart skip a beat as the woman came up to the side of her boat. A frown was reflecting her perfect features as she struggled to keep the man's head above the water's surface. "I don't think he's breathing," her soft voice, laced with a panic, said as she attempted to hoist Mamoru up towards the awestruck Haruka. The woman leaned over the edge of the boat and grabbed Mamoru by the shoulders firmly before pulling him on board. She laid Mamoru flat and placed her ear a bit above his chest. He was breathing, it was shallow – she had to get him back on land.

Back on her feet, Haruka quickly raced to both sides of the boat and pulled in both the nets hastily – no catch, the restaurant would not be pleased, but damn – a life of a man was more important than a loud of fish, even if it was the town's nutcase. Mamoru's life was worth more than a catch of fish. Nets scattered along the deck, Haruka returned to the front of the boat to peer into the woman (she was amazed the mermaid had stayed put, she was expecting it to be gone by now). "Michiru. Is that your name?" Haruka asked. The woman nodded. In that single moment, the story that Mamoru had tried so hard to get the whole town to believe suddenly had its proof right in front of her very eyes. The mermaid, the beautiful goddess of the sea, existed. "What happened to him? Why is he out here?"

Michiru raised herself above the surface as she pointed towards the general direction of the shore. Haruka struggled to keep her eyes away from the bare breast – mermaids were supposed to have shell shaped bras, right? This was all Walt Disney's fault, they got it completely wrong.

"I startled him," her angelic voice explained. "He was standing over the docks, he fell in – I was frightened and took off, but he drifted away; he needed help. Your boat is the only one out here, you have to help him."

Haruka nodded. It was difficult, but she tore her eyes away from the beauty and forced herself back towards the wheel. This fishing trip and this unexpected meeting were going to be cut short. He glanced back up towards the sea in time to see Michiru rapidly swim away from the boat as the engine came back to life. Haruka barely caught a glimpse of it, but she was sure she spotted ragged, almost silver slices on her deep blue fin; her heart sank at the sight. She recognized those markings from a program on television she had since a while ago – about dolphins being caught up by the engine of all types of boats. Had Michiru been involved in a boating accident?

Right now, she had to be more focused on Mamoru, he was the one injured in this instant; he was the one who currently needed help. Haruka needed to get him back to the docks and to the hospital. She would worry about the transportation to said location upon reaching shore. She was doing whatever she possibly could.

_**To Be Continued**_


	4. Chapter Four

**Title:** La Vita Amara

**Author:** Kamel

**Pairing: **Haruka/Michiru

**Word Count: **4,000

**Genre:** Romance, Drama

**Rating:** PG-13

**Feedback:** Please and thank you.

**Notes:** All the cultural information based in this fic is from the knowledge I've acquired while spending my childhood summers in Italy (ten miles away from Porto Empedocle, Sicily to be exact).

**Summary:** AU Day in and day out in a small town in Sicily, Haruka, the fish mangler, provides for the people of Porto Empedocle – a boring old life which gets a twisted turn upon discovering a mermaid late one night by the name of Michiru.

**Chapter Four**

This was definitely not the way she had envisioned spending her night, in the waiting room of the hospital rather than out at sea trying to fill an order for one of Sicily's top restaurants. Haruka had been sitting on this hard, uncomfortable chair for what felt like forever now, she could have left hours ago, right after she had checked Mamoru into the emergency room, but she felt obligated to Mamoru. Well not to Mamoru, technically, but Haruka did not want to admit that she was doing a mystical creature a favor – a beautiful mystical creature for that matter, but that did not change the nature of the situation she had been put in. However, the way her eyes brightly shown in the brilliant moonlight, her natural curves and the way her unique aquamarine hair fell over her perfect slender shoulders-

No, she was not thinking about a mermaid. Mermaids did not exist. There was no such thing as someone being half human and half fish – the idea sounded ridiculous. Not to mention, Haruka would have never imagined someone to be half human and half fish to look as –

She was not thinking about it. No.

Haruka leaned forward, closing her eyes tightly as she rubbed the sleep from them. Pulling all nighters had become a part of her job, yes, but they were still hard to endure, especially after a night such as this. Judging by the view from the window, the sun was finally coming up, it was dawn. Setsuna would be up soon and wondering where she was and so would that restaurant's cook; Haruka had called ahead and arranged for them to get their order from another fisher from a nearby town since Haruka had been placed under abnormal circumstances. Damn it all, it had been for one of the best restaurants on the island – the new fisher in question was one lucky son of a bitch. She was out of a job that would have paid her incredibly well which upset her, that was a pay she and Setsuna could definitely have used to benefit them and the old apartment they called a home (air conditioning in their bedrooms instead of fans sounded amazing), but she was out of the job because she had taken part in saving Mamoru's life along with a mermaid. Her mind kept drifting back to that mermaid. She saw an actual mermaid.

Mamoru had been telling the truth all these years – Michiru, the majestic sea goddess. The description in his stories did not come close to comparison to Michiru's actually beauty. How many people laughed at him, mocked him for actually telling what he saw with his own eyes, a creature who's beauty compare to those of angels and who's voice was so gentle, yet had a massive amount of strength behind it and – no. She was not thinking about this, she told herself, repeating the message over and over again in her head.

Shaking her head, Haruka stood back up onto her feet and ran her hands through her short dirty blonde hair a couple of times. Whenever she got back to the apartment, she was going to take a long wanted bath – screw the fact it was not the day they had running water. The storage tanks on the roof of the apartment always held more water than they needed. Her mind continued to race. She was thinking about a _mermaid_. Is this how Mamoru felt after his first encounter? Did he honestly think it was alright to tell others what he saw? Look where it got him, he set an example for Haruka; she could not tell anyone about what she saw, she would immediately gain the ranks of the town's nutcase alongside Mamoru and that was a title she did not want to acquire. It was already eating away at her though; she wanted to tell someone else to just get it off her chest if anything. She wanted to climb on top of the storage tanks on the damn roof of the apartment and just shout it out over the town that she saw the mermaid. She grumbled under her breath, concluding she was in need of another cup of coffee.

Haruka walked down the hallway from the waiting room, one she had taken more than a few times already during the night and stopped in front of the coffee machine. For the millionth time this night and early morning, Haruka confirmed that these hallways were way too clean and she was tempted to just dump a bag of sugar on the floor since the coffee would be a bit too obvious, but they had to be clean, right? They had regulations to uphold, peoples' lives to save and things along those lines. Almost absent-mindedly, she poured herself another cup; she knew where everything was – the sugar, the creamer, the spoons, she could not tell what number cup this was, she close count a bit ago. She brought the freshly brewed liquid up to her nose and inhaled deeply – Haruka enjoyed the smell of fresh coffee, it was one of the things that made her relax when she was not out on sea. However, this time around, she was not truly relaxing, she was on edge. This whole situation was so surreal, this was not happening to her; Mamoru was suppose to be the town crazy that did not know what he was talking about. He could not have been right; it was toying with her mind.

"Stop thinking about it," she grumbled under her breath, taking a small sip from her coffee. The hospital waiting room coffee did not meet Haruka's standards; she had definitely, without question, had better in one of the bars along the beach side. Maybe she would stop by there on the way home for a fresh, decent cup instead of just relying on this crap.

"Stop thinking about what?"

The voice caught her by surprise. Haruka nearly choked on the hot coffee and ended up coughing into her hand. The liquid was now burning in the back of her throat from being caught off guard. Wincing, she turned around; her teal eyes immediately grew wide as her mind confirmed the voice she had heard. "Usagi?" the name had been foreign to her lips ever since the woman and her daughter took off to Rome with that rock star and his band – the name of which was not coming back to her at this point. She had not changed much in Haruka's opinion – the same loving, soft blue eyes, the same long golden hair and style. A pair of black Gucci glasses rested on the top of her head and a Louis Vuitton purse slung over her shoulder, not an unfamiliar sight for the young woman, the previous wife of a doctor, Usagi was use to having money and a rock star, a famous rock star, did not have trouble with money, of course.

"Haruka, I came as soon as I heard," Usagi quickly stated, her voice laced with a sense of worry. Her eyebrows furrowed and those soft blue eyes were searching for an answer, and they were tired. She must have flown out the moment she had received word earlier in the night. "How is he?"

The fisher's eyebrow narrowed slightly as she gazed over her shoulder towards the general direction of the waiting room. The man in question was in a small room in just the hallway beyond. "Mamoru? He's resting now – you flew out here because of this?" she questioned. However, Haruka was not completely surprised.

Was it odd behavior? Usagi, without a though nodded to the question. True, they were no longer a married couple, but he was still their child's father; he was still part of their lives and she had been worried about him and all this talk about legendary monsters. It was something she did not want Chibi-Usa to be around, she did not want their daughter to see her own father in such a state, but Usagi wished with all her heart that one day Mamoru would recover from all this and be a part of his young daughter's life. "A divorce does not imply that we should stop speaking to each other all together, does it, Haruka?" she asked in return. "I would like to have him be part of Chibi-Usa's life, but not like this. He needs medical attention and I pray that this is where all the healing can begin. This has driven our family apart, yes, but I would be considered cruel if I didn't care about him."

The older woman could not help but smile faintly. Usagi – she had a certain light about her, her personality was bright; she could not stand to see anyone suffer and she would do anything to make situations right. Haruka remembered Usagi trying so hard to get Mamoru help, but he refused. Mamoru was convinced there was nothing wrong with him while, on the other hand, Usagi saw him suffering mentally. His brilliant mind was being reduced to mere ribbons because of this stupid imaginary encounter with a mermaid (an encounter proven tonight was far from ridiculous). It ultimately lead to their divorce, lead to Usagi meeting that rock star- what was his name? Seiya Kou? It lead her to moving all the way to Rome so Seiya could work on his career with his other two band mates, leaving Mamoru all alone here in the port. Her efforts had been… effortless. "I've forgotten how intelligent you are, Princess," she replied, the pet name slipping out. Mamoru had not mind it, but Seiya on the other hand… It was no secret Haruka and Seiya were not on the best of terms.

A small nervous giggle escaped the blonde as she drew closer to Haruka, close enough to wrap her arms around her old friend. In return, Haruka pulled her into on one armed hug, mindful of her hot cup of coffee in her other. Dropping the barely passable onto the young woman would not have been considering a warm welcoming. Usagi buried her face into Haruka's shirt, inhaling the foreign scent – Haruka always worn the best smelling perfume. She would tease it was the only feminine thing about her and then ask for the name of fragrance of the perfume in question, Usagi never got an answer. It was a form of pitful revenge on Haruka's part for being teased. "How is he, Haruka?" she repeated her previous question that had gone unanswered.

"The doctor says he'll be alright," Haruka finally answered, resting her chin against the top of the blonde's head, closing her tired teal colored eyes momentarily. She had the urge to be back out on the ocean, it rivaled the urge of wanting to be curled up under the sheets of her bed. "He's resting in his room right now if you want to see him," she added, taking a step back after inhaling deeply. It was an unnecessary question, she knew, and Usagi had nodded right away just as expected. Wrapping her arm around the small woman's waist, Haruka took another sip from her cup of coffee before leading her down the hallway back towards the waiting room; she lead the woman down yet another hall and into the second room to the right. She opened the heavy door, revealing Mamoru's still form lying on the white hospital bed in the all too clean room. He was staring up towards the ceiling blankly, mumbling to himself. Haruka lingered at the doorway, hearing Usagi's breath hitch at the sight as she continued into the room.

Haruka could feel her heart sink slowly with every questioning step Usagi had taken forward towards her ex-husband. Holding her hands close to her chest, Usagi sat down on the edge of the chair by the bedside and scooted herself closer. "Mamo," the blonde woman said softly, the pet name escaping her lips naturally. She reached out and took one of his hands into hers, Haruka lowered her head before turning around and exiting the room – this was none of her business. Usagi looked up at the shuffling of feet in time to see Haruka disappear behind a closing door.

"Usako."

Her head jerked towards her pet name. A small grim smile overcame her features upon meeting the eyes she was no longer familiar with – they were not the same bright blue eyes she had fallen in love with, they were no longer filled with the normal abomination, but something else and they were cloudy, fogged with a hint of gray. She brought his hand up to her lips and placed a small kiss on the back of his palm. "Are you okay, Mamo? What happened?"

But he ignored her questions, they fell upon deaf ears. "I saw her again, Usako – she finally came back!" he said almost excited in a small, hushed tone as a wide grin overcame his face. "Michiru, she's so beautiful."

It was that damn mermaid story again. Hearing her name, Usagi felt her heart break all over again. It was this damn story that caused her and Chibi-Usa so much trouble, how could he still believe this story after so many years? It torn his family apart, why was he still clinging onto it? "Please, Mamo, snap out of this," she begged in almost a whimper. How could he not see what this was doing to him? He was on the track of becoming a very successful doctor, a student of the brilliant Dr. Souichi Tomoe. She knew what happened that night, Mamoru had snapped from under all the stress he was in – the death of this first patient. Souichi had informed her that the first was always the hardest – not that any, knock on wood, that followed were not, but the first made a new doctor realize that they were responsible for someone's life. Souichi, though, had reassured Mamoru would come back into reality. To this day, this had not yet happened, but Usagi was still holding onto hope. That was the thing about Usagi, she would also hold onto hope, no matter the situation.

"Usako, I tried to grab her, I wanted to show you all-"

Mamoru continued to ramble. Usagi lowered her head, doing her best to block out all this nonsense, the same nonsense she had heard plenty of times before now – as did everyone in the whole town, she had been told, but she was the single person Mamoru confined in. Mamoru had trusted her from the very beginning, since they started dating and now it was no different. No one believed him, his stories would get defensive, he would get annoyed, but not with Usagi – the tone of his stories were begging her to believe him, but how could she? A mermaid? This had been way too much for her to handle; that is why she left in the first place. He refused to see any doctors in turn because he believed there was nothing wrong with him, he knew what he saw.

A bitter chuckle escaped the back of her throat. Usagi stood back up and leaned over the edge of the bed to place a small kiss on Mamoru's forehead. He was staring off into space, still blabbing. She placed two soft, slender fingers upon his dry lips, swallowing the growing lump in her throat. "Mamo, I'm going to go talk to your doctor, alright?" she said, brushing her hand through his dark hair. "I'll be back a little later, okay?"

As expected, Usagi got no response. She nodded to herself before turning to leave the room, her shoulders tensed; these episodes were always hard for her, she did not want to see him suffer like this, he had to get on with his life, why could he not see that? Standing outside the door, Usagi leaned against the wall, staring at the ground as she sighed deeply, lingering in the empty hallway for a moment later. Feeling her eyes beginning to sting from the forming tears, she closed them tightly before wiping at them furiously as she headed back towards the waiting room where her old friend was still occupying, awaiting her arrival.

"You didn't have to stay here with him," Usagi said softly, taking a seat next to the fisher.

Haruka reached over and rested her hand on the blonde's knee, smiling faintly with reassurance. "I had to make sure he was alright, didn't I?" she replied. After all, it had been Haruka who found him in the ocean's water, it had been Haruka who had witnessed the mermaid, and it had been Haruka who was the first to realize Mamoru had been telling the truth the whole time. She owed it to him, whether she would admit it or not. And she definitely would not, look where it got Mamoru. Haruka did not want to become the town's new nutcase.

"That's more compassion anyone in this town has shown him recently," Usagi commented, appreciating Haruka's kindness. Looks could be deceiving – Haruka appeared to be your tough tomboy who probably did not care what was going on around her, but she was one of the most kind and gentle people Usagi had ever come across; Usagi enjoyed being around her, not to mention she had been a regular customers of her fresh catch since she was a young teenager.

She had a point that Haruka was well aware of. Everyone in town disregarded Mamoru as trash – take the street market for example, even Haruka had brushed him off as a lunatic who was really sticking to his story. Not to mention there was also the nun, Sister Rei and Setsuna who may not treat him as such, but knew of his story and knew that something was not working properly in the young woman's mind. Even Souichi Tomoe, the man who had been with Mamoru when all of this first began, treated him as if he was below dirt, but Souichi had seen Mamoru harassing people because of his story – maybe Souichi had a different motive to treat him as such.

"You must have taken a red eye flight, Princess," Haruka concluded, standing up. She held her hand out towards Usagi and pulled her onto her feet. "The coffee here comes nowhere near as close as the ones in town, let me treat you to a cup of cappuccino," she offered.

Usagi glanced over her shoulder towards the hallway leading back towards Mamoru's room and then back towards Haruka. She knew he would be alright for a little while and he was in need of rest after the incident out at sea. Gazing back towards Haruka, she gave her old friend a soft smile and nodded. "That sounds great," she answered.

**XX**

The bar had barely open; Haruka and Usagi had earned the title of being the first customers of the day. Usagi had sat down on one of the freshly cleaned patio tables outside, overlooking the ocean. Haruka had ordered their two cups of coffee and brought them to the table. She sat down across from her and folded one of her legs over the other before enjoying the scenery as well. The scent of the beach was slightly different from actually being out at sea, Haruka preferred the smell of being out at sea better. Inhaling the scent of the brewed cappuccino, Haruka turned towards Usagi after taking a small sip as she raised her eyebrows.

The woman was staring off at the beach; a hint of sadness was etched into her once lively eyes. A grown had taken over her lips and tears were slipping from the corner of her eyes – tears did not suit her. Haruka placed her cup back down on the saucer and looked back towards the beach to recollect herself before turning towards Usagi. "What's wrong?" she asked in a gentle tone. This had been a rough night for the both of them. Usagi flew nearly across the country for a mental ex-husband and Haruka… Haruka's was not sure what she should believe anymore. She wanted to be back out at sea, wanted to confirm whether or not if she had seen a mermaid or if it was just her tired mind playing tricks on her.

"What isn't wrong?" Usagi asked in return, wiping at her eyes. "I don't understand, Haruka. He needs help, why can't he see that he's suffering? He's lost everything."

Haruka wanted to reach other and hold Usagi in her arms tightly with the thought of letting go never crossing her mind. She knew what Mamoru was going through, no one believed him. She wanted to tell Usagi what she saw, that Mamoru was not as insane as they all thought he was, but where would that lead her? Would she be the next rundown, dirty woman trying to sell swordfish scales in the market? Then again, Haruka was not even sure if what she saw was reality, maybe she had simply thought she saw something. Yes, Haruka was hanging on dearly to the idea of maybe it was all in her head, but at the same time, she wanted nothing more than to return to sea on her boat and see that beauty just one more time. She wanted to talk to Michiru without having someone drowning in the process. Was she honestly thinking about talking to a mermaid? She wanted to tell herself no, but instead, Haruka confronted the idea. Yes, she was thinking about speaking to a being that had been disregarded as nothing but a legend to many fishermen.

All those times of countless fishermen all over the world claiming to have seen mermaids, had they all been telling the truth about their tales? Had they all really seen women with looks beyond comparison? How many of them tried to prove in a drunken rage that they had been telling the truth? How many of them ended up killing themselves out at sea from disregarding boat safety regulations? This sort of thing did horrible things to people. Haruka did not know what to tell Usagi. She knew whatever she said, it would not be the truth. How could she admit to Usagi that the mermaid Mamoru had seen years ago that torn apart their marriage actually existed? If Haruka even mentioned spotting the mermaid, Usagi would… she did not want to think about the golden haired woman's reaction.

"Things will work out for the better, Usagi," she finally answered, returning her gaze towards the ocean. The thought of wondering where Michiru was right now crossed her mind, she could not help it. Not only that, but the imagine of her swimming away from the boat last night – the silver slits on the dark blue scales – kept coming back to her mind. Those had been open wounds, Haruka had been sure of it. Michiru had been involved in a boating accident. Was that the reason why she took so long to return to Mamoru who had been urging for a second glance for years now?

Usagi's shoulders fell slightly at the answer. How many times had she been told that as Haruka was well aware of? Haruka busied herself with her cup of cappuccino.

_**To Be Continued**_

_A/N: This may be the last update for a little while. I'm heading off to Washington D.C. for a week next Saturday and I must make up all the school work I will be missing. Upon my return, I'll only have one week before finals and another before graduation – needless to say, I'll be pressed for time. I'll try to update, but I don't want to promise anything._


	5. Chapter Five

**Title:** La Vita Amara

**Author:** Kamel

**Pairing: **Haruka/Michiru

**Word Count: **4,300

**Genre:** Romance, Drama

**Rating:** PG-13

**Feedback:** Please and thank you.

**Notes:** All the cultural information based in this fic is from the knowledge I've acquired while spending my childhood summers in Italy (ten miles away from Porto Empedocle, Sicily to be exact).

**Summary:** AU Day in and day out in a small town in Sicily, Haruka, the fish mangler, provides for the people of Porto Empedocle – a boring old life which gets a twisted turn upon discovering a mermaid late one night by the name of Michiru.

**Chapter Five**

Haruka had treated Usagi to that cup of cappuccino and they had spent a good part of the early morning gazing off into the horizon silently, allowing their own thoughts to consume them; Usagi's mind was occupied with Mamoru and his condition while Haruka's was still desperately struggling to make sense of anything that had occurred within the last twenty-four hours. It had been Usagi who cut their little meeting short, she insisted on returning to the hospital to be at Mamoru's side, hoping that her presence would finally get him to quit his silly storytelling, Haruka did not argue – if she had, she would have been on the same boat as Mamoru and she had already concluded she did not want that scenario.

Simply out of respect for her well being, Haruka walked Usagi back to the hospital. The pace had been a quick one, much quicker than the one that took them to the small bar. The walk there had been a relaxing, enjoyable one – now Usagi was in a hurry to get back to the hospital. Maybe she wanted to speak with Mamoru's doctor at once, see if there was anything they could possible do to help him mentally or maybe she needed to get to a phone as soon as possible. She left during the middle of the night; she probably wanted her rock star boyfriend (fiancé? Haruka was not too sure) and her daughter to know that she had safely made it to the old port. Whatever the case may be, it was none of Haruka's business at this point.

She did not advance beyond the hospital's sliding door entrance, teal eyes softened as they watched the young golden hair woman disappear behind them, back to her lost cause – Usagi was not one to give up, even if there was no hope, she would only keep fighting. That's what they loved about her, her fighting spirit; it could be compared to no other.

Once Usagi had completely disappeared from her line of sight, Haruka stuffed her hands into her pockets, her shoulders slumping slightly as she turned around. A small, bitter chuckle escaped her when she began to walk towards where, she really was not sure. Every nerve in her body wanted to be back on the open sea, at sea she could truly relax, or that was the excuse she kept telling herself. She wanted to be back at sea to relax, not to attempt to search for a legendary mermaid. Reasoning told her to head back to the apartment for now, Setsuna would be awake and she confirmed that train of thought with a quick glance at her wrist watch which was still off a few minutes. Haruka would not be surprised if Setsuna was already at the shop, preparing to open up, she would swing by it and see. If not, there was a possibility the two would run into each other on their route to home-party favor shop.

Setsuna would not be happy about Haruka losing the well paying job; they had been looking forward to it for while now – they had plans to repair the apartment. Haruka cursed under her breath as she continued her walk. Yes, she was upset she lost the job, but she would have not sacrificed Mamoru's life. His life was more important than a ton of fish, no matter the size of the paycheck. She stopped in front of the familiar party shop, the gates had been pulled up from the windows and the front door; Setsuna was in the middle of opening up. Haruka gazed up towards the few levels of apartment over the shop, she was honestly pretty sure the only reason the shop was able to stay open was due to the rent of their tenants. Business was usually slow and only really picked up during times of Confirmation or First Communion. They did a few Baptisms and graduations, but that was pretty much it and Setsuna would never dream about shutting the place down, this shop had been in her family for generations.

Kicking a crumpled soda can on the side walk onto the street in an attempt to clear their entrance of the small mess that built up over night, Haruka walked up the steps two at a time. Any town with a disco was a town that never spelt in this country and the port had a few of those spread around town. The shop was only a few blocks away from one, it was not unlike for their entrance way to be a bit messy every morning. It was a bit annoying, yes, they hated having to sweep the porch everyday – even though they should keep it nice and neat anyway, any form of extra work was usually unwelcomed. They had enough to deal with.

Haruka stuffed her hands into her pockets as her already tired shoulders slumped, her blank teal eyes staring up towards the copper colored sign of the old building; it needed a few touch ups that was for sure. None of them they would consider major by any standard, they were touch ups of self-improvement for the building. It was one of the more decent buildings in the port. With the ridiculous small streets, reconstruction of the older buildings was nearly close to impossible. The town was slowly expanding – actually completing a building could take months, maybe years; things had to be paid in full and/or up front or there was simply no construction to be done. It was an odd system, she would say that much, strange government policies.

"That sign has been the same for generations, you know," came the all too familiar voice of her roommate, bringing Haruka back down to reality from her thoughts of the country's ways of construction. The dark skinned woman stood at the top of the porch, broom in hand, ready to tackle the task presented before them. "Did you already make the delivery?" Setsuna asked beginning to sweep their steps, maroon eyes landing on the dirty blonde haired woman.

Here was the moment of truth; it had finally drawn upon them. The fisher sighed heavily, bracing herself for what was to come. She had half a mind to take a couple of steps up, but the rational side of her brain kicked in (the slow process was due to the lack of sleep, that is what she had concluded) and she realized how much of a horrible idea that was – she was extremely positive Setsuna would strangle her to death if she was within reaching distance. Maybe she should consider taking a few more steps back now that she thought about it. "There was a problem out at sea," Haruka beat around the bush. "I had to hand the job off to another dealer."

"Damnit!" Setsuna hissed, frustrated as she paused in her sweeping. Her grasp tightened on the broom handle; she understood sometimes the sea was unpredictable; she had been on that boat during a small wind storm. The incident caused the older woman to get back on the boat with a sense of caution – she always made it a point to check weather conditions before hand even if Haruka was going out solo, she worried about her housemate, and they were pretty close to family (practically the only one each other hand). "Your boat sure did pick just a fabulous time to break down, you know? How much is it going to cost us?" she asked, continuing her sweeping in an even motion.

Alright, not as bad as a reaction the fisher had been bracing herself for, being as blunt as she had been with the information. It definitely was not as bad, she was still breathing and functioning which was a major plus, she rather enjoyed being able to breath and function. Hesitating slightly, Haruka took the first step up the porch. "The boat is fine," she replied. She wished something had gone wrong with the boat, Haruka could deal with a busted engine or part – she considered herself a pretty handy mechanic. She would have rather dealt with a fiery explosive engine than Mamoru's injury and Michiru. Well, maybe she would not have minded dealing with Michiru. Wait. What was she thinking? Her mind was going back to the mermaid, why was it going back to that mermaid? Because Michiru was lovely – no, she was not thinking about a mermaid. Why was she trying to block that out of her mind? Did she not like what she saw? It was what she saw with her eyes after all. Do not think about it. Stop. Not right now. She needed to get things settled with Setsuna right now, that was the matter at hand. "I found Mamoru floating out at sea," she informed.

Once the statement left her lips, Haruka looked up in time to witness maroon eyes to grow wide in shock from an answer Setsuna probably would not have been able to guess. The sweeping had come to a stop, of course, and the woman nearly dropped the broom all together. Immediately, her mind had raced to an attempt suicide. Had Mamoru finally snapped from the constant pressure of the town folks? "Haruka, what do you mean you found him floating at sea?" Setsuna asked, her tone had lowered and grew even more serious than before. Maybe she heard wrong. Haruka was tired, maybe she left out details – maybe Mamoru was floating out at sea on a boat and the boat had suddenly died. Or something along those lines.

How could Haruka rephrase that to be more bluntly put, She found the man while pulling out of the docks, that was her story and she was sticking with it. The official, unrevised version would not be hitting publication so to speak. Yes, she was extremely close to Setsuna, but Haruka could not possible share what truly happened, even she was not sure personally. Maybe the story would come out one day, but today it would remain hidden and shall be until she understood what was going on. "That's exactly what I mean, I found him floating on his back and took him to the hospital," she answered. "And I couldn't just leave him there all alone, you know? They called Usagi and she was on the next plane here. The doctor says he's going to recover. Physically at least."

Setsuna nodded, a wave of relief washing over her as she began her slow sweeping process once more. She was glad Mamoru was alright, things never really went his way, but she was a bit suspicious of Haruka's behavior of the event, that was for certain. Haruka, like the rest of the town, disregarded him as the nut job. It truly did not seem like her to stay all night at the hospital for him. "Well, at least he's alright."

"Yeah," Haruka agreed with half a nod. Without another word, she climbed to the top of the porch and took the broom from Setsuna's hands. "I think you still have other things to be doing – leave the dirty work to me," she stated with a half grin, giving her roommate a small wink. Setsuna gave her a smile of appreciation in return before disappearing into the small shop to commence her to-do morning list. It would not take her long and Haruka would be on her way back to the apartment soon enough.

Haruka easily fell in place with the slow motion of brushing side-to-side that Setsuna had taken up, she would probably wash the shop windows too while she was at it – they looked like they could use a wipe down and a touch of elbow grease. Once those tasks were finished, there was nothing stopping her from returning to the apartment. Here was hoping a nap would clear her mind and make her think a bit more rationally about last night's events. A mermaid? Honestly? Haruka caught herself staring towards the sea from ground level. Nearly every nerve in her body wanted to sea towards that direction, towards the natural pull because it was often the sea and the breeze that could easily sooth her, but her problems had originated from the ocean this time. Haruka knew she was trying to trick herself – yes, the ocean often did calm her unsettled nerves, but she wanted to head out there for other different reasons this time, a reason she was trying ot keep secret from even herself. Haruka shook her head.

A part of her refused to even think about what she saw, she saw something out of the ordinary while another wanted to desperately explore those possibilities – possibilities that went against the laws of reality in her opinion. Mamoru had been completely right however, Michiru was beyond beautiful; words could not express her beauty. The way her hair flowed with the waves, her sweet, tender voice – she was a majestic creature, that was all to it. And her body physically ached to see her again. Haruka wanted to get back on sea, this very second if she could, but the rational side (what little bit she had left) chimed in. If she went off now, there was a great chance she would simply fall asleep – probably slip off the boat at some point or another; it would not be safe. She needed to get some sleep –

"You're dozing off, Haruka."

The fisherwoman nearly jumped out of her skin, her heart began to race, beating against her chest rapidly. She quickly turned on her heel to face Setsuna, her teal eyes growing wide and her mouth fell agape. "What?" she murmured, confused as she held out the broom – not much sweeping had been done now that she took a good look at the steps.

Setsuna took a hold of the offered broom and pulled it away from the wide eyed woman. "Seriously, Haruka," she spoke up, taking over the sweeping for the second time. "You've been up the whole night, you need to sleep before you crash."

"Are you upset I lost the job?"

"What?" Setsuna questioned, drawing her neck back from the question. "Well, of course, but here's a good reason behind it, you know?" she replied. "yeah, it would have been great to be able to fix the leaking pipes, but a human life is worth way more than our pluming. You definitely need to get some sleep, Haruka," she concluded, heading back inside the shop. The task of sweeping was as good as done, Setsuna really did not really care anymore, she had other things to get done.

Stopping herself in mid-step forward, Haruka decided to turn around. She was positive Setsuna would beat her over the head with a rolled up newspaper if Haruka hinted at wanting to wash the windows. Haruka stuffed her hands in her pockets as she headed down the porch to tackle the short walk back to the apartment. She would nap a little per Setsuna's request and then see where the day would take her next. If it so happen the remainder of her day lead her back out a sea to venture out a search for a mermaid, then so be it – that's is how it would work out.

**XXX**

Usagi's fragile heart was immediately broken when Mamoru had awoken, he had failed to acknowledge her existences though she had not been completely sure whether or not that was intentional. She wanted to believe it was unintentional, that it was the mental illness, but she also did not want to acknowledge the mental illnees at all, the sick darkness that ripped their family a part. Whatever the case, he was wide awake now and completely fine, physically at least. He was free to go; off he went, leaving Usagi to pick up the bill which she did not mind at all – he no longer had a stable job, she could not just leave him in such a state.

Glancing over her shoulder upon tucking everything away in her purse once more, her blue eyes widened and she threw her purse over her shoulder, making a beeline out of the hospital after Mamoru, he could not just up and leave, not from a hospitalization like this. Did he even have a place to stay? She could not allow him to stay in the streets if that were the worst case.

"Mamoru!" Usagi called after him, walking briskly in the same path. She frowned heavily when he did not answer, he was stubborn. "Please, Mamoru!" she repeated in a louder tone. Nothing. Stubborn prick. This caused the golden haired woman only to pick up her pace further until she was able to face him directly. "Mamoru, don't you remember me? It's Usako," she said softly, smiling warmly up at him.

His blank eyes continued to gaze over her head into space, they were no longer the same eyes she had fallen in love with years ago and she had not seen those eyes in such a long time. He had been replaced by a complete stranger, a stranger who could no longer recognize the woman he had once pledged his life to or the child he had barely raised and it gravely hurt her to no end. "Mamoru…" her voice trailed off, growing weak.

"My love…"

Immediately, Usagi's head jerked up at his rough sounding voice. She felt her heart skip a beat, her breath hitched in her throat. Tearful blue eyes grew wide, filling with a sense of hope – the same sense she refused to give up for him. He just needed the support, that was all. Look at him now, he realized who Usagi-

"Michiru, she came back to me…"

The feeling of a broken heart was not foreign to the golden haired woman at all unfortunately. The familiar contracting feeling of her chest growing tight made it difficult to breathe at all; the tears were now trailing down her cheeks for a rather different purpose than before. Her arms fell to her side, allowing the troubled man to walk away freely from her. She obviously had no place in his current life and neither did Chibi-Usa apparently. He only had one thing on his mind – Michiru, this damned mermaid from his damned imagination that had destroyed his damned life. It took every nerve in her body to remain calm as she turned around to watch him walk away aimlessly.

Her body began to shake; she could feel her body starting to tremble unbearably. The tears were now flowing freely as she lowered her head, casting long strands of golden hair over her eyes. She forced a smile, one that would ultimately become bitter as her walk progressed – she was wandering about just as aimlessly, she allowed her legs to carry her where they wished. She could feel eyes watching her as she passed; she had been the wife of a brilliant new doctor in a small town where everyone knew everyone else and their business. She was usually frowned upon by the majority – divorce was not an option (legally, it was), she should have stuck by her husband's side; she should have bit down on her tongue and stayed by his side as he descended down this horrible path, but they did not understand. She could not properly raise Chibi-Usae in that type of environment. She took action for the sake of their child, why could they not see that?

Usagi had lost track of time itself, she did not know where she had been going or where she had been, but the woman had found herself outside the small café Haruka had taken her earlier in the day along the beach shore. She arrived in time to watch the owner begin to close up her arrival caused her to look up. "Sorry, ma'am, we're closed – Usagi?"

Forcing herself to smile, Usagi winked at her old high school classmate and close friend. Makoto had not changed a bit, not at all. She still looked like her cheerful self with bright green eyes and volumized long brown hair that had been pulled back into a ponytail. "I'm sorry, I forgot your business hours, Makoto," Usagi replied.

"Usagi," Makoto repeated, abandoning her cleaning supplies at the bar. Something was not right about her friend, something was off. The usual bright aura around her had gone out – had she been crying? Her face was stained with trails of tears, Makoto stepped around the bar, and drawing herself closer but Usagi took a step away. What was with this behavior? What happened to her? Did Seiya do something? She would kill him on sight if that were the case, Usagi did not need another failed relationship in her life; she had been through so much already.

Makoto watched as Usagi shook her head and dried her damned best to force a smile. Why did she think she had to be happy around everyone? Damnit, Usagi, just be yourself! Frowning, Makoto took the few strides separating the two of them and grabbed her old friend in a tight embrace. Usagi rested her forehead against Makoto's shoulder, glad her old friend was tall.

"I've tried so hard, Makoto," she murmured, her voice muffled by the other woman's shirt. "I want to help him so badly."

"Seiya?"

"Mamoru…"

The grasp around the golden haired woman tightened, Makoto rested her hand against the back of Usagi's head. "You did your best, Usagi," she replied softly. It was not her fault the marriage failed, no one could have seen that coming; Usagi and Mamoru had been such a young and happy couple. "Come on, have lunch with me," she offered, but refused to take 'no' for an answer – she would not leave Usagi all alone right now.

Usagi allowed herself to be lead to one of the tables on the porch, overlooking the beach. She watched Makoto disappear into the kitchen before gazing towards the horizon. A large mass of dark clouds were gathering in the distance. It would be stormy by the early evening – did Mamoru have anywhere to take shelter?

**XXX**

Setsuna's request had been fulfilled, Haruka had promised to get a few hours of sleep and she got a few hours of sleep, completely missing lunch all together. Not wanting to waste any time, the woman packed away the lunch and took off for the docks. She knew better than to eat while steering the boat, she needed to pay full attention, but probably could not pay full attention even if she tried. Her mind was clearly elsewhere at the moment, of course.

After clearing the plastic container of the nicely prepared rice salad, Haruka tossed it into her bag without much thought before shifting the boat to full speed, racing even further away from the docks and out into the sea; she was daring to go even further than she had ever been before. The shore and the port had disappeared from view, she was far enough. Haruka killed the engine, allowing the boat to slowly come to a stop. It was a waiting game from here on out, a game Haruka played often against the sea. It was never an easy wait, patience is a virtue after all.

But this was going to be worth the wait, no matter how long, that is what Haruka mentally repeated as she climbed onto the front of her boat. The fisher laid flat on her stomach, allowing herself to peer over the edge into the water. Sighing heavily, she hung her arm over the edge as well, the tips of her fingers reaching for the water absent mindedly. Even now, the sea had a relaxing affect on her – being out here made her calm and made her realize how exhausted she really was, the earlier adrenaline rush of being able to come out here and worn off. Her teal eyes grew very heavy, very fast and the young woman was completely out almost immediately after that.

Haruka had not been asleep very long at all when the relative calm water broke out with bubbles followed by a crown of aquamarine hair and same colored eyes; it was as if the mermaid had been silently watching nearby, waiting for the blonde haired woman to fall into a deep sleep. She wanted direct contact to be avoided with this human. Michiru's last encounter with these human's had not been a good one – a glance at her fins could confirm that, sometimes her old wounds still stung.

She swum up to the edge of the boat and raised herself above the surface of the water, exposing her bare chest as she reached up towards the fisher's hand, taking it into her own wet, slender one. At once, upon contact, Michiru felt a sudden warmth overtake her, a small smile overcame her soft lips.

_**To Be Continued**_

_A/N: I'm back from Washington D.C.! It was a fun trip and I'm glad to be back. I did spend an hour or so every evening writing bits of this chapter down and I've concluded my handwriting gets ridiculous sloppy when I'm exhausted. Hope you enjoy._


	6. Chapter Six

**Title:** La Vita Amara

**Author:** Kamel

**Pairing: **Haruka/Michiru

**Word Count: **4,800

**Genre:** Romance, Drama

**Rating:** PG-13

**Feedback:** Please and thank you.

**Notes:** All the cultural information based in this fic is from the knowledge I've acquired while spending my childhood summers in Italy (ten miles away from Porto Empedocle, Sicily to be exact).

**Summary:** AU Day in and day out in a small town in Sicily, Haruka, the fish mangler, provides for the people of Porto Empedocle – a boring old life which gets a twisted turn upon discovering a mermaid late one night by the name of Michiru.

**Chapter Six**

Humans were definitely odd, they could fall asleep anywhere, could they not? Michiru tilted her head, causing her damp aquamarine hair to fall to the side slightly as she continued to admire the slumbering woman's perfect features – the smooth, soft skin, delicate eyes and thin lips. It was hard to imagine a creature this calm and peaceful could also be so horrifying and pain inducing. A frown came over her features as she pulled her hand away. She was not even sure what had come over, what had influenced her to draw near to such creatures once more. The last time she had, she had been injured horribly. Michiru winced, her shoulders slumping as she gazed over towards the scarred body.

It had been with this contraption as well. Why had she returned this close to their habitat?

Because she had to see him again, they called him Mamoru, she believed. He had been calling for her, begging for her to reappear to him again. Michiru tried to ignore it for the longest time, the fear of returning to shore had frightened her to no end; she could still feel the blades tearing into her flesh, the wounds stinging as blood gushed through. A shiver ran up and down her spine. He had been so frantic, especially in his last few calls; she had remarkable hearing, and she heard his begging in just a whisper from such a great distance. It had been a nagging situation, eating away at her because she knew… she knew she had caused so much pain in his life and she probably should have stayed her distance.

But his pleading…

Her heart had sunk. He had been a family man, a curer of the sick and by simply seeing her, she had destroyed all that. Michiru ducked slightly hearing stirring coming from the front of the boat. The woman had shifted, her nose wrinkled. What if the same thing happened to this one? What if this one saw her again and ended up like Mamoru? Would she be able to handle it? This woman was so caring, she had concluding from saving Mamoru. Without a question, the woman had helped her. The woman shifted once more, moaning as her teal eyes fluttered open. Michiru felt her heart skip a beat and her eyes grow wide.

Falling asleep on the hard surface of the boat was headache inducing, Haruka had unfortunately found out, but she was not too surprised she had dozed off as she had; she had been exhausted. Gazing over the edge of her boat, she expected to just see the water's surface, but her heart immediately jumped into her throat seeing the crown of aquamarine hair dive down. Absent mindedly, the fisher reached down towards the water. "No, wait!" Haruka shouted. "Its okay!" she added, trying to make her frantic voice sound soft, welcoming even.

Haruka pulled herself closer to the edge of the boat, peering even closer to the water surface, hoping that maybe the creature had understood her – she must have, they had spoken last nice and they were perfectly clear to one another.

Rapidly, her teal eyes scanned every inch of the water's waving surface, her shoulders slumping a bit when there was no respond back to her statement. Damn, why did she have to fall asleep? Had she been awake, she could have seen more of the mystical being; she could have actually talked to Michiru. She sighed heavily, resisting the urge to just dive right in after the mermaid. Yes, mermaid, she would admit that. Haruka saw a mermaid for a second time or at least she thought she had. The idea no longer seemed as insane in her mind; Michiru was beautiful, even if her judgment was based on a simple glance. Her arm hung over the edge of the boat, the tips of her fingers inches away from brushing against the surface of the water. "I just want to talk to you," she said softly.

There was no respond to that either, but Haruka kept staring down at the bleak looking water.

Nothing.

With a heavy sigh, Haruka forced herself to sit up and roll over. She arched her back, planting her hands against the boat's surface as she gazed up towards the now cloudy sky – the clouds had rolled on in, she noted. Turning her head towards the horizon concluded that a small storm was heading directly their way; she would have to head back to the docks soon. Haruka could easily navigate through a small storm such as the one heading in this direction, but it was not something she would want to do if she could manage to avoid.

Slowly, Michiru peeked back above the water's surface, doing her hardest to stay silent and undetected. Call it as equally good hearing, the slight sound of the increasing movement and ripples of the wave caused Haruka to glance back over her shoulder off the edge of the boat. Her heart skipped a beat naturally and teal eyes grew wide as she struggled to stay calm. No sudden movements, what if they alarmed her and she took off? Haruka would not be able to swim after her; the fins were a definite advantage – why would she even think about diving in after her? That was a ridiculous idea. Was this her charm playing tricks on her? Is this what happened to Mamoru? Swallowing the lump in her throat, Haruka slowly turned around, crouching down at the edge of her boat.

Teal eyes met those aquamarine, Haruka found herself immediately getting lose within those beautiful eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but nothing came out. For the first time in her life, Haruka was speechless, that never happened. She found herself wanting to impress this creature in front of her, but how? She could dive right in, show that not just marine life was good swimmers, but human beings had a knack for it also. Now that she thought about it, Haruka was not much of a swimmer; she was more of a runner if anything. There went that idea.

The creature lifted her chin and tilted her head to the side, keeping contact with Haruka the whole time. Michiru was intrigued. Watching the human only served to her amusement. This one was different from Mamoru, her features more gentle, but still showed her strength. "You're not a stranger to the sea," the mermaid stated as she shook her head, raising herself above the water even more. The contraption was not moving; therefore it was not dangerous, that much she had concluded.

Her voice.

The tension and panic of the previous night clouded the fact that her voice was beyond the sweetest melody on earth. Haruka gave herself a moment, closing her eyes as if her mind were basking in the soft tones of the creature's gentle voice, further eluding her into the charm.

"You come out here often, do you not?"

Haruka allowed her eyes to open once more and figured it would be rather polite of her to reply back. The fisherwoman nodded her head in response to the question. The sea was no stranger; Haruka had been born and raised in the port. Granted, it was not her parents who did much of the raising, but a close uncle who had been the previous owner of this very boat. He had been an exactly fisherman himself and enjoyed taking Haruka out whenever he got the chance. Her parents did not approve of his way of life which meant more than likely Haruka had to sneak out of the house to have adventures at sea with her uncle. Her parents did not approve of her behavior and that sense of attitude did not change when she enrolled in high school. Haruka dropped out half way through her high school career to take over her uncle's business – he had been diagnosis with advanced lung cancer. It was about that point in her life where her parents completely abandoned her and moved towards the mainland. They knew figured out their precious only child also swung the other way, that would have pushed their buttons even further.

"What's your name?"

"Huh?" Her previous question had caused her mind to wander elsewhere. "Umm, Haruka," the fisher answered.

The mermaid lowered herself back into the water once more, confusing Haruka. She peered over the edge of her boat once more, but quickly drew back when Michiru leapt up, grabbing the edge to pull herself up. She shifted slightly so she could properly sit up, she leaned her body weight back, propping herself up with her arms. "Haruka," she repeated – and Haruka did not mind the sound of her name on the woman's soft lips. "You're a good person, Haruka – they call me.. Michiru."

Haruka found herself leaning away from the creature sitting next to her, she could not help it. She was at a loss of what to do, she had envisioned running into this beauty once more, but this situation never crossed her mind. According to Mamoru, the creature always kept her distance, why was she being over friendly with her? That she minded in any way, it was curiosity.

"Michiru," the fisher repeated in a small voice that was quiet unusual for her.

The mermaid nodded.

The situation was quite different for the two involved. Haruka was mesmerized by the whole thing, she found herself being a bit awkward, and she was not sure what to do at the moment. What would one do in they were faced with something like this? It was not something one was lectured about, really – there was no Mermaid 101. Maybe if she remained quiet, things would play out. Michiru, on the other hand, was amused. This was her first interaction with another one of these humans in such a long time and her first one had not gone over well. This one was calmer, she did not seem like the type of kick it into overdrive as the other two had and she was grateful for that.

Teal colored eyes traveled down to the dark blue scales of the fin – it did closely resemble that of a swordfish which reminded her of the patches Mamoru tried to sell in the street market. Haruka's eyes landed on the ragged scars that covered the once flawless scales. A frown played on her face as she looked back up to the woman's face, a bit shocked that she had been studying her as well.

"Was that from.. a boat accident?" Haruka found herself asking.

Michiru tilted her head and nodded to the question, a small frown playing on her features. Even frowning she looked so amazing, the shine in her eyes, the way her damp aquamarine hair framed her face and fell over her shoulders. "A few years ago," she answered. "I got too close to the blades, I should have known better."

"Yet you can come up here without a problem?" Haruka found that it was easier to talk to her as the time, as little as it was, progressed. It was an amazing feat, Haruka would admit. If their roles had been reversed, Haruka would never come near another boat again. There was no way she would be jumping onto fishing boats – fishing boats especially being, well, you know.

"The contraption is not on, it does not pose as a danger to me," she answered, shrugged her smooth shoulders at the question.

Contraption. Haruka guessed she was referring to the boat and its engine and if that were the case, she did have a point. The boat was just floating about aimlessly, allowing the current to take it where it pleased. The moment she kicked it into life, the blades would start whirling rapidly immediately becoming ten times more dangerous. She also knew of some fishers back at the port who would not act in the same manner of Haruka if they were in this situation as well. Their still boats would be just as deadly if they engine were roaring, many of them were corrupt – they would have instantly trapped Michiru and sold her out for millions.

The thought of that much money… Haruka was never one for fortune. Was it not obvious? She was a fisher; they were not paid very well. She lived comfortable, that is all mattered – she had a roof over her head shared with a pretty decent roommate. Setsuna did have the tendency of using all the hot water during a shower and that was slightly an annoyance, yes, but it was something Haruka could manage with. After all, Setsuna did all the cooking no questions asked probably because the older woman knew if she left her roommate in charge of meals, the apartment would have burned a long time ago.

"What makes you trust me so much?"

"You helped me," Michiru answered simply as she gazed over her shoulder, noticing the gray clouds were drawing nearer and the wind was beginning to pick up. This could not be a good sign for the human. "Mamoru… he's not respected in your city yet you took the liberty of helping him."

"I'm not cold hearted," Haruka replied, looking over towards the beauty sitting next to her. "Mamoru needed help, there's nothing on this planet that's worth more than a human life. I wasn't going to allow him to die for a fresh catch of fish, what kind of person would I be if I did? I'd be a monster."

"You have a heart," Michiru concluded, leaning forward, drawing herself closer to Haruka. The tip of her nose was barely an inch away from the woman's face and out of simple reaction, Haruka leaned back slightly. "I've heard them – the people where you live, they don't treat him very well, do they? Is that because of me?" she asked, her voice delicate as she met the woman's eye, a slight look of confusion took over her perfect features.

It was a bit of a difficult question to answer mostly because Haruka did not want to sound too blunt – what if she offended Michiru? What was stopping her from diving back into the ocean and disappearing for good? Haruka did not want that. "People have a hard time believing in something they haven't seen with their own two eyes, it is a question of faith and, well, umm, mermaids haven't really been…" her voice trailed off, she was not sure how she wanted to word this. "We were raised to believe mermaids are nothing but legends, just stories – when Mamoru came back that one night blabbing about having seen one, of course everyone was skeptical."

Michiru reached over and took one of Haruka's hands into her own as if to physically prove that she was real, she was no legend. She was a being capable of emotions, capable of pain. She brought the hand up to rest against her soft cheek. "What about you? Will they treat you the same way?"

"If I say anything, yes," Haruka answered without a doubt, feeling her fingers tingle as they came into contact with her smooth skin. They would make her the new official town psycho if she even mentioned this meeting in the slightest. No one would believe her, the other fishers would be curious if anything – they would venture out for a look themselves, but none of them would admit it. "I won't speak a single word about this to anyone, I don't need the negative attention and I don't want anything to happen to you."

This one was also caring, Michiru noted as she smiled softly, lowering her hand. Haruka stroked her cheek gently before running her fingers through the locks of aquamarine hair carefully, not wanting to tangle any of the strands that had fallen into perfect place. "Not all of us are good," the fisher explained. "There are some who would easily try to hunt you down for their own benefit, I just… wanted to see you again, and you're so beautiful."

Her aquamarine eyes grew soft to that small confession, Mamoru had said it time and time again, but it sounded different coming from this one – there was actually some meaning behind it; Haruka wasn't consumed by the insanity that had taken over Mamoru, she was able to keep a rational mind about all this and that is what made the two humans different from each other, naturally. Michiru shifted, drawing herself closer to the fisherwoman, and placed a slender, sleek hand on the clothed shoulder of the other woman. Their eyes met momentarily before the mermaid placed a soft gentle kiss against Haruka's dry thin lips with her moist.

Almost at once, Haruka felt her eyes widened and her heart leap back into her throat, if this continued to happen, it would be its new home. Her stomach had tied itself into knots, something that never happened to Haruka, she was hardly one to be caught off guard by her emotions, but that is exactly what the kiss had done. Her tensed shoulders relaxed after a second and she placed her hand under Michiru's chin, tilting her head up so she could properly kiss her in return. It was odd how natural this felt, Haruka liked it. She did not want this moment to end, but the low rumbling coming from the distance told them otherwise.

The distance thunder had brought Haruka back into reality, a reality she really did not want to face with right now, especially when she was just starting to talk with Michiru. This was not fair. Taking a glance over her shoulder towards the oncoming storm, Haruka concluded that, yes, she should be heading back towards the shore. Her shoulders fell slightly at that conclusion, one she did not want to reach. "I want to see you again," Haruka said needlessly.

The mermaid shift slightly and winced, her scales had dried, and the tight scars were bothersome. Haruka wrapped an arm around her shoulder protectively, anything to aid her. "Easy there," she murmured. "Let me help you," she offered. She reached under Michiru's fins and took her into her arms carefully. With one simple roll, Haruka aided the beauty into the water with a minimal splash.

She peeked back up above the water's surface, her body grateful to be back in her familiar environment; Michiru gazed up towards Haruka with a smile of appreciation. "You're a friend of the sea, when do you plan on returning?"

"Tomorrow, but… it's for work," Haruka answered. Heading out this far often would make things look a bit suspicious and she did not need that from the people of the port – the people of the port were pretty nosy, they were all over Usagi and Mamoru's divorce even before it was official. Rumors could easily spread like wildfire and they were more than likely pretty ridiculous. They would think of something for her numerous of adventures out to the ocean only to return empty handed. No, they would have to plan out their visits. That was for certain. When was Dr. Tomoe coming over to the apartment? Sunday evening? Haruka would not mind being out of the apartment then. "How about four days from now? During the evening?"

"Will you come out here again?" Michiru asked in return. "Won't that be a problem in the evening?"

Haruka shook her head. She reached into the side pocket of her jeans to pull out her uncle's old compass, something that was extremely dear to her, and held it out towards Michiru. "With this contraption, I'll always know where I'm going in the dark and in the light," she replied, watching as the mermaid took the circular device into her hands delicately. Michiru watched the needle wiggle about and carefully turned the device over to further inspect it. Humans had such odd things, such odd creatures.

"This thing tells you where to go?" Michiru inquired, her nose wrinkling at the idea as she frowned. The sea goddess held the compass up into Haruka's reach. "And you follow it?"

She watched the fisherwoman nod in response and to that response Michiru could not help but tilt her head to the side in confusion. "Why not simply follow your heart? Why rely on something that cannot think for itself?"

"There's no need to get philosophical," Haruka said, bemused, as she pocketed the old compass once more. "It helps me get back to the docks, I don't make life changing decisions based on which direction I'm facing," she chuckled, wishing she could spend more time right now with the mermaid. There was so much she wanted to talk about, so much she wanted to show her and she was sure Michiru remotely felt the same way otherwise she would have taken off long before now.

The speed of the wind was increasing.

"You should hurry and go," Haruka suggested, climbing down from the front of the boat. She leaned over the railing; Michiru swam back into her view. "I don't want you anywhere near this thing when I turn the engine back on," she said seriously, gazing over her shoulder towards the end of the boat.

One hand resting against her chest, Michiru nodded. She reached up towards Haruka, wanting to feel her touch just once more, a touch she would be craving for four long days. The fisherwoman leaned over the railing, allowing their fingertips to brush against each other for a moment. With one final smile, Michiru dived back into the water and swam off, distancing herself from the boat. Haruka watched her silently until the waves she created blended in with those created of the oncoming storm and disappeared. Figuring she was far enough from the boat so she would not be injured, Haruka went to kick the engine into life. The storm was advancing fast, the sky above was already beginning to grow dark. No doubt there would be rain when she reached the docks and probably a lightning show when she made it back to the apartment.

**XXX**

It was true, Haruka did not handle much of the cooking, she lacked the necessary abilities to be a decent chef, but that did not mean she could not perform small simple tasks within the kitchen. It was just past eight in the evening meaning Setsuna should be all closed up by now and on her way back. Haruka had brewed up a small pot of coffee, her specialty. Setsuna often teased it was a miracle Haruka did not bleed coffee – in return, Haruka found it astonishing Setsuna did not bleed wine. They were quiet able at getting to each other's throats.

Hearing the door open and close and the sounds of footsteps in the hallway, Haruka looked up from the television set she had been attempting to watch. Her mind was elsewhere at the moment, of course, naturally. "I'm in the kitchen," she called out lazily.

"Yet it's not on fire," Setsuna had called back, causing a small grin to form on Haruka's thin lips. The older woman stumbled into the kitchen, carrying a large box – the scene immediately brought Haruka to her feet. She took the box from Setsuna's arms, it was not that heavy, but having to walk the few blocks with this thing in your arms… then yes, it felt like a ton.

"I see you had a customer," Haruka noted, placing the cardboard box down on the cleared kitchen table. She dusted off her hands and placed them on her hips. "Confirmation, right?"

Setsuna nodded as she walked over to the skin to fetch herself a cup of water. If she had a cup of coffee now, there would be no chance she would be able to fall asleep. "Had a few people come in, only one buyer," she informed, filling the glass with the tap water. "Either a whole lot of people are giving up on this tradition or Agrigento's party favor shops have some superb deals," she grumbled, bringing the glass to her lips to take a long, much needed sip. The tall woman sighed heavily before collapsing down into one of the chairs at the table, rubbing her forehead. "Things aren't looking good, Haruka."

"We've been through some tough shit before, Sets," Haruka reminded, giving her roommate a reassuring grin. They would pull out of this little rut; it would just take some time, that was all. "So what design did they pick out for the confetti sacks?" the tomboy asked, helping herself to reach into the box to get the catalog.

"Towards the back – it's marked with the pink tab. The figurines won't be in for at least another week, so we have some time," Setsuna replied, taking another sip from her glass of water. "Came back here during the afternoon for lunch, you were asleep for some time, but when I woke up from my nap, you were gone. Were you at the bar playing cards with the other fishermen?"

The daily card game between the fishermen, Haruka had taken part of it time and time again and sometimes she got lucky – she would win the small pot and bragging rights, but she had not been to one of those games in a bit over a week now. Things had been busy. She shook her head. "I took the boat back out, I wanted to relax-"

"You realizing your relaxing is costing us an arm and a leg, the price of gas is rising," Setsuna scolded. "And it always costs a fortune to fill that boat up, you know that."

"It costs even more to keep the shop going," Haruka pointed out, pulling out a few boxes of confetti. "Come on, filling up for gas is like… paying the bills for the shop – it's a necessity for us to keep doing our jobs."

Setsuna placed the empty glass onto the table and stood up, walking over to the refrigerator. Opening the fridge, she leaned in and pulled out a small container of deli meats. "Alright, you got me there," she admitted, fetching the daily loaf of bread before placing everything on the table. Dinner was usually something light in this household, neither of them had time to prepare something elegant. Setsuna was rarely home during the day and, well, Haruka was banned from most of the kitchen. "So were you able to enjoy your relaxation?" she mockingly asked, returning to her chair at the table.

With the presence of food upon the table, Haruka abandoned the confetti for a couple of slices of mozzarella cheese and salami. The question caused her to momentarily freeze up, but a lot was going on in that short moment. Her mind was racing, furiously debating whether or not to tell Setsuna the truth. They had been roommates for years now, they were literally family, they told each other anything and, well, she always believed in Mamoru. She believed in him, she did not believe his story. There was a difference. Maybe now was not the best time to tell anyone. After all, she had just met Michiru. "Umm, it would have been even more so if it wasn't for that storm," she replied, watching Setsuna turn her head towards the balcony glass door. Haruka had drawn back the shades to watch the rainfall; she knew Setsuna enjoyed the sight and sound of rain.

"You were out during that?" Setsuna asked, tearing a piece of bread from the loaf with her hands. "It came up rather unexpected, it wasn't too bad, was it?"

"I wasn't in it, no," Haruka corrected, turning the volume of the television set down before helping herself to her own piece of bread to chase down the salami and mozzarella. "I got to the docks as it pulled in – that's some nasty wind, it would have been a bit difficult to properly navigate," she pointed out upon standing up.

Setsuna gazed up at her. "You're leaving me to do all this work by myself?"

"You said it yourself, we have at least another week to get this done and the only other order we have for definite is Tomoe. We'll get it done," Haruka reassured, holding a thumbs up. "I'll get started one some tomorrow morning, good night."

_**To Be Continued**_


	7. Chapter Seven

**Title:** La Vita Amara

**Author:** Kamel

**Pairing: **Haruka/Michiru

**Word Count: **4,500

**Genre:** Romance, Drama

**Rating:** PG-13

**Feedback:** Please and thank you.

**Notes:** All the cultural information based in this fic is from the knowledge I've acquired while spending my childhood summers in Italy (ten miles away from Porto Empedocle, Sicily to be exact).

**Summary:** AU Day in and day out in a small town in Sicily, Haruka, the fish mangler, provides for the people of Porto Empedocle – a boring old life which gets a twisted turn upon discovering a mermaid late one night by the name of Michiru.

**Chapter Seven**

The days had gone by slowly, painfully slow as often they did when one was expecting something; life was unusually cruel like that, had a sick sense of humor. Minutes felt like hours, hours like days and so on and so forth – Haruka had to resist the urge to wander off, oh it would have been extremely easily to venture out further into the sea countless of times during the last four days, but she did not want to attract the unnecessary attention if she could avoid it and she was quite popular among the fishers of the docks being that she was currently the only female among them. The others had a horrible tendency of keeping a, ah, 'watchful' eye on her when she attempted to work. Men were dirty pigs, it was as simple as that, especially the ones she had for co-workers. Co-workers was not the proper term, it was every fisher for themselves out there at sea.

Sunday could not come any sooner. Haruka had often found herself gazing towards the ocean from their top story balcony; for the first time, she cursed the perfect view of the dock and the sea beyond from their apartment, it did only aided to the urge of wanting to see Michiru again. It was as if she could hear her calling, that her voice was being carried in the soft wind. Standing on the said balcony, the woman was leaning up against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest as a small frown played upon her thin lips; she was eager to get back onto the sea, but she still had to wait a little longer. The sun had barely set just beyond the horizon, Haruka still needed to wait a few hours. Just a few more hours and she would be able to see her again.

The idea turned that frown into an equally small smile, a very faint one at that.

"Haruka?"

The fisherwoman peeked around the corner, looking through the balcony entrance to Setsuna who was standing at the kitchen doorway, dressed a bit more eloquently than usually. She raised her eyebrows at the frown the other woman was giving her. Mentally, she ran over the course of the day, she had not done anything wrong, at least she did not think. Haruka could not declare whether or not she was in the clear based on her roommate's demeanor.

"Yes?" she asked in return.

"Are you going to come in any time soon?" Setsuna asked. Her tone was slightly annoyed, slightly nervous – an odd combination.

Haruka nodded in response. "Well, that's my intention," she remarked, saving them an extra round of bickering when she stepped back inside the kitchen. There was a faint scent in the air, an aroma coming from the oven, at this time of night, it was different. Setsuna did not bake in the evening, especially not cookies judging by the sugary scent. Granted, it was Sunday and Sundays were a bit different from the rest of the week, but this was not normal behavior.

"Lovely, great," Setsuna replied, walking quickly into the kitchen and directly over to the oven to pull out the tray of little amoretti cookies. Placing the tray to cool on the counter, she turned back to Haruka, looking her roommate up and down. Jeans and a t-shirt still. "We have guests coming over, are you going to change or not?" she questioned.

"Guests?" Haruka blinked, staring at Setsuna for a good moment before her eyes widening, suddenly the night's agenda returning to her. Setsuna had practically slaved away in an attempt to make the apartment look decent because they had clients coming over this evening. A frown appeared on her features as she lowered her head, not really wanting to change – why should she have to dress formally in her own apartment because guests were coming over? "Oh yeah," she mumbled before clearing her throat. "I'm heading out though, it would seem kind of pointless to change, don't you think?"

Setsuna's eyebrows furrowed slightly at the comment. "Heading out?" she repeated, placing her hands on her hips. Haruka had failed to mention this earlier, which now resulted in one strike against her. Even when she was trying to be on her best behavior she messed up; that was simply the nature of things. Haruka had a record of being a trickster; it followed her back to middle school where the two met. Setsuna could not recall a week where Haruka was not in trouble with a teacher or another student. "Tonight is important for the business."

Tonight was important alright, but Haruka had her own reasons that made it such.

"With all due respect, Setsuna, I'm not much of a business person – if you weren't around, I wouldn't know the first thing about the shop," Haruka pointed out, trying to flatter her roommate. Witnessing Setsuna's tensed shoulders ease up a bit confirmed that her little bit of flattery worked. "You'll do fine without me, I make the place reek of fish anyway – what kind of impression would that leave Tomoe, huh? Imagine the rumors he could spread. 'Fantastic figurines with sweet confetti, but their own apartment smells like a rotting aquarium,' I think that would be bad for business, don't you think?"

Tricksters had their way with words, they've mastered the art of smooth talk and Haruka was definitely among their ranks.

Shaking her head, Setsuna crossed the kitchen to the small couch resting up against the wall that Haruka had taken a seat upon only moments before. They had positioned it just at the right angle so the sitter could enjoy the view of the sea from the balcony entrance. With a swift smack to the head, Setsuna could not help by grin lightly. "Has anyone told you today that you, Haruka Tenoh, are quite the smartass?"

"Not today, no," Haruka replied, now rubbing the back of her head. Setsuna had a wicked arm, that was all that needed to be said on the situation. "Fine, I'll change into a better pair of jeans," she caved in, hoisting herself up from the couch. "And a button up shirt does that meet your standards?"

Wrinkling her nose, Setsuna shook her head. "The jeans don't really match your dress shirts – what about those light tan slacks you have? The white dress shirt would look lovely with them and they are pretty durable pants, right? Working shouldn't a problem."

There was a slight problem; Haruka did not want those pants to be ruined. They were good pants, but Setsuna was right about them, they were made of durable material. Being presentable in front of the Tomoes would be something Setsuna would definitely want out of her roommate, but the idea of heading out on sea with those pants… Durable, yes, flexible, not so much. She would be able to change before heading out, correct? But what if that drew questions? She did not need questions right now. Maybe she was thinking too heavily into this, but she was taking precautions, she reminded herself. "Alright, how long until they arrive?" she asked.

Setsuna gazed up towards the old coo-coo clock hanging from the wall above the television set, it had belonged to her grandmother and as annoying as the chime was, she could not bear to part with it. The two had learned to coup with the thing. "In about an hour," she answered, turning back to Haruka who nodded at her.

"Good, time to shower-"

"An attempt to get the fish smell out of your system?" Setsuna teased. In return, Haruka merely stuck out her tongue as she walked out of the kitchen and into the hallway.

**XXX**

Why was it when one did not want something to occur, the occurrence was brought one more quickly than something one was anticipating? Life was cruel, life was bitter and life was unfair, Haruka had concluded. The hour she had to prepare for the Tomoes' arrival had gone by way too quickly and she had felt rushed. It felt as if she did not have enough time to take her shower or dress properly for the short night in the apartment ahead. She did not have to stay long, according to Setsuna, but her roommate did appreciate the moral support.

It was not a secret that Haruka did not think very highly of Dr. Tomoe, Souichi rubbed her the wrong way especially with all the rumors flying around the town concerning Mamoru's unstable mind. Haruka had been convinced the doctor had done something to his student in a fit of jealousy or something along those lines. However, now that she had seen Michiru with her own eyes, her opinion on Souichi had managed to grow even worse if that were possible – she already thought so lowly of the doctor. Souichi must have seen Michiru as well, yet he denied Mamoru, he allowed Mamoru to slip away from sanity, but could she honestly blame him? Why would he confirm a mermaid spotting? Maybe the doctor had been trying to cover his own ass, bluntly put.

After all, he had a reputation to keep.

One that had been damaged either way, according to the fisherwoman.

The shrilling doorbell sounded while Haruka was still buttoning up the dress shirt, she gazed over her shoulder, hearing Setsuna's footsteps walking down the hallway to answer. Good, Haruka did not want to have to deal with Tomoe more than what was required of her. Here was hoping she would not have to talk to him at all, but the chances of that were slim; the apartment was pretty small with hardly any places to hide and she was positive Setsuna would drag her out to the opening eventually.

She reminded herself she would only have to endure this for a short while and she would be rewarded greatly for that short while as well – she was so close to seeing Michiru again, this was just an obstacle blocking them. It was an obstacle Haruka could easily overcome. As she buttoned up the last remaining buttons, Haruka heard a male mumbling from the hallway followed by a soft, young female voice confirming that, of course, the doctor and his daughter had arrived. Quickly, she tucked in her shirt before heading out of her bedroom, the smallest rooms sans the bathroom (not by much) in the apartment, and closed the door behind her as Souichi and Hotaru were lead into the living room.

The Tomoe family followed the old traditions; they had proven it by showing interest in these party favors. Every life changing moment should be documented with a crystal figurine apparently. Another way this was evident was by their attire. Keiko Tomoe had died in a house fire years ago. Since then, their young daughter wore nothing but black clothing. Black was the color of mourning over a loved one, it was usually worn for a year after the death in question, but in a few circumstances mourns can choose to wear black attire for an even longer period, sometimes even for the rest of their lives – the black attire was more common among women. For men, they wore a black tie or a black pin on the right side of their chest about the size of a euro coin. Souichi was never seen without one or the other. It was evident that Keiko was loved.

And taken away before her time, Hotaru was still a young child.

Souichi had taken time out of work to properly raise Hotaru; it must be nice not having to worry about money – to actually be able to take off as much time as one wanted. Then again, Haruka should not be thinking bitterly of their situation. She followed the small group and lingered at the doorway. Souichi and Hotaru had taken a seat on the pale yellow couch that matched the yellow walls and, well, Haruka firmly believed that there was too much yellow in this room; they needed to redecorate. This was the lovely taste of Setsuna's mother, it was outdated.

"I'll go get the refreshments," Haruka announced. Technically, they were Setsuna's guests and Setsuna should not leave them alone with her roommate, correct? It made sense in her head. Haruka turned around as Setsuna took a seat next to Souichi's free side, clutching a catalogue close to her chest.

Hotaru continued to stare blankly forehead, it was clear that the child did not want to be here. Of course, she wanted to be off doing her own thing; being dragged around by a parent did lose its appeal after a while. The doctor leaned forward with a small smile as he shifted his head slightly to face Setsuna. "We've decided we want to stay with the original figurines for Confirmation – the grain of wheat," he explained.

Extending the catalogue to him, Setsuna nodded, she had taken the time to mark out different pages of different designs the two might be interested in. "I thought as much," she replied with a faint smile of her own. Hotaru rolled her eyes; she could be doing other things. She should have brought something to do. The young girl stood up from her father's other side.

"Umm, where's the bathroom?" she asked.

"Oh," Setsuna looked up, maroon eyes meeting the clearly bored lavender. "Down the hallway, Hotaru, it's the second door to your right just past the kitchen."

The child nodded before heading out of the living room. She quietly began down the hallway, not wanting to be overheard. There was something about being in another persons' place of residents that made one want to explore. It was a new surrounding, who would not want to explore? The bathroom was obviously the only place to go where questions would not be asked, but Hotaru was curious what an apartment of a business owner and a fisherwoman was like – it was an odd combination of roommates.

Hotaru made it past one closed door to the left – a bedroom perhaps. It was the door the other woman had come through upon their arrival. The door next to it was opened just a crack. She could not help but lean towards the left due to this and give it a gentle nudge. From across the hall, Haruka was a couple of feet away from the kitchen's wide open door, allowing her to keep an eye on the girl who did not know the phrase 'curiosity killed the cat' apparently. Haruka watched her push the door open so she could take a peek, the fisher placed the plate of cookies down on the table and snuck up behind the child who was eyeing an old vase propped up by a metal holder. It was something one would see in their history books or a museum, not the dining room of an apartment.

"Can you keep a secret?" Haruka asked. The sudden voice coming from behind her caused Hotaru to nearly jump out of her sink.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" she began, but Haruka was already chuckling, waving it off.

"This is boring, I know," she replied, pushing the door open revealing not only one old Roman vase, but two.

Seeing this as an invitation to step inside, Hotaru wandered in, coming up close to one of the vases. "Did you buy these in the street market? Decorations?"

"Sure," Haruka replied, smirking. "Actually, I found them while fishing."

Lavender eyes widened at the confession, the sense of bragging. Hotaru looked over her shoulder towards Haruka who had just crossed her arms over her chest before returning her gaze back to the vase. She wanted to touch it, but feared that maybe it would crumble if she did as stupid as that sounded. If it came from the sea and snuck into her, it was not going to crumble under her touch, but she did not want to put that theory into practice. "You mean they're real? Isn't that illegal?"

"Real Greek artifacts," Haruka confirmed. "And, well, technically yes. Someone gave word to the police a few years ago; I had to give them to a friend to hide for a few weeks. I found them, why shouldn't I keep them? They're beautiful, aren't they?" She remembered those few weeks very well, she had been very relaxed about it and, well, Setsuna was on the edge, very worried. She did not want them back in the apartment, that was her initial reaction, but they made the room complete.

"Wow…" Hotaru said almost breathlessly. "To have a piece of history in your own home, that's crazy. Do you ever wonder the story behind them? Who made them and what for? What if they were made of the temples of the Gods? We're so close to the temples of Agrigento, that's a possibility, right?"

Haruka nodded. The idea did cross her mind many times, usually when she came into this room. "That's what I think," she replied, shrugging her shoulders. "But can you keep it a secret? Setsuna will have a heart attack if we get suspected again."

Secrets. What kid would pass up keeping a secret?

The young girl nodded her head rapidly as she turned to Haruka, her smile growing. "Yes!" she answered, earning her a wink from the older woman.

"And if I find any Greek or Roman coins while out at work, I'll send them your way," Haruka offered. She had a couple of them lying around the apartment, every fisher must have had at least one coin. They were caught among their game every once in a while; it was not something completely unusual. Though it would be easier just fishing one out of the kitchen cabinet and handing it over to the kid now, but where was the excitement in that? Finding a new coin would increase sentimental value, would it not? There would be more meaning about it.

Haruka could not help but feel some sort of connection to Hotaru, one that she could not explain however.

If it were possible, the girls' face would have lit up even more at the idea of having her own bit of history in her bedroom. "Really?" she asked. Haruka nodded in response before leading her out of the dining room, she closed the door behind her, not wanting Souichi to get a glimpse of their little bit of museum – call it trust issues, if one will. Setsuna must be wandering where the two of them were by now and expecting the treats; Haruka quickly returned to the kitchen to fetch the plate of cookies before following Hotaru back into the living room where she sat down quietly next to her father once more without a word. Their secret was safe. She placed the plate upon the coffee table before exiting the room once more; she had other places to be – well, other places she wanted to be was more correct.

**XXX**

They did not believe him, they called him crazy, they told him was losing his mind, but he would show them soon enough. Michiru came back to him, she was still out there and she had not been a part of his imagination, they were all wrong. He just needed to get on a boat, a boat of his own. He would be able to find Michiru again and he would show her to the whole damn town, he was determined to prove them all wrong for everything they had done in the last few years to him.

Mamoru waited outside the fenced in fairly decent sized house, behind the shrubs that had been planted just along the side of the road. The original plan was to stay out here until the family of two turned in for the night; it was risky, yes, but Tomoe… If he could prove to the world he had been right the whole time and use Tomoe's boat to do just that, it would be adding salt to the wound which is exactly what he wanted. Sneaking while they slept would be tricky, he knew, but he could do it if it came to that. However, luck was on his side tonight. Souichi's German imported Benz pulled out of the driveway and he spotted the young child in the backseat. They were gone if only for a little while. Mamoru only needed a few minutes anyway.

He waited another few minutes just in case they turned back. When they did not, Mamoru stood up, glad that this road was not one commonly taken. It led out to the country, at night it was fairly easy to get lost out in the country. The roads were not paved and even if they were, it was not much of an improvement – this definitely worked for him and his benefit. It would make capturing Michiru a lot easier. Mamoru grasped the metal fence tightly; he hoisted himself up and climbed over.

Landing on all fours, Mamoru's head jerked up. The yard was empty, free of any guard type dogs or anything of the such. Keiko had been afraid of large animals and so was Hotaru. Tomoe would not have something like a German Sheppard wandering around his yard.

Standing straight on his feet, he headed directly for the front door. It was locked of course, Souichi was not an idiot. He valued his security, yes, but every system had its flaws. Or a spare key under the doormat. Yes, it was that simple. Souichi probably did not expect anyone to bother them. Chuckling under her breath, Mamoru unlocked and pushed open the door, heading up the stairwell to the rest of the house. Now, if he were keys for a boat… where would he be?

He rattled his mind. He knew this, he knew he did.

It had been years ago, but Souichi had taken Mamoru over after work for dinner with him and Hotaru. Usagi had been out of town visiting her own family with Chibi-Usa, leaving him home alone for the weekend. Mamoru had not been much of a cook, so Souichi had offered. It was around the same time he got his own boat – a spontaneous buy. After tucking Hotaru into bed and informing the maid they were heading out… where did he go? His office, yes, he went into his office. The keys had been in his desk.

Stumbling in the dark, Mamoru ran down the hallway. His knee had collided with something, but he did not double check to see it had been. He really did not care either, the throbbing would subside soon enough and it would never cross his mind again when he had a hold of Michiru. He would get a hold of Michiru too.

The door to the office was locked and there was no mat for a key to be hidden under for this damn door. Mamoru took a step back, gazing up and down the wooden door before giving it a quick swift kick at the doorknob; it caved in, exactly what he wanted. He allowed himself inside – Souichi had done some rearranging. Damn. Of course he did, if he had not, this would have been like taking candy for a baby. Nothing looked the same as it once was. Would the keys even be in here?

There was only way one to find out. Mamoru flipped on the light switch, searching in the dark would be pointless, he needed his eyes. At once he began digging through different draws, pulling down shelves of books at a time. He was getting nothing, this was frustrating him. More violently, he began to tear down the room, determined to find that damned key. He needed that key, without that key his plan would not work; it would not be as sweet as he wanted it to be. He was going to show them all, he was going-

A smirk overcame his features as he pulled out the bottom draw of the filing cabinet he had been ruffling about in. Laid among the different packages of whatever, Mamoru did not investigate further, were the keys he had been looking for. The man began to laugh, his shoulders began to shake as he took the keys into his hands before arching his head further back as he continued his wicked laugh.

This was it.

**XXX**

The docks had been quite as they usually were on a Sunday evening. Sunday was a day of rest, hardly anyone worked – the shop, for example, was only closed completely on Sundays. As truthful as that was, Setsuna did not give herself a day off, she constantly had other things to be working on for the shop. Haruka could not even remember the last time Setsuna had taken a day all to herself. She made a mental note to bring this up to her roommate; it could not be healthy. She was pretty sure Setsuna could not spend more than a full day away from the shop. She should make a bet, it would be easy money.

A small chuckle parted from Haruka's lips as she brought the engine to life. It began softly humming as she slowly began to lead the boat out of the port, not wanting to disturb anyone who may be in the surrounding buildings. After all, it was Sunday evening and it was a day of rest, they did not need to hear the roaring of an engine seven days a week, six was bad enough.

However, when she reached the limits of the dock, she kicked it into overdrive, speeding out towards the open ocean. Her heart began to race; she was anticipating this second meeting. She wanted to see Michiru again, wanted to talk to her and find out more about her. She was so interesting, so beautiful and she craved to see her again and Haruka could only hope that, in return, Michiru felt the same way about her, but Haruka really did not think so. There was honestly nothing amazing about her from her point of view. She was a common, every day person who had a dirty job – there was really nothing attractive about that, but… her mind was wandering to the small kiss they had shared only a few days earlier.

Back at the docks, Mamoru was fumbling with the keys in his hands, his eyes darting from boat to boat. Where was the damn thing? It had to be out here, Souichi used it frequently, Hotaru loved rides out to sea and Souichi would not deny his own daughter anything; he spoiled her, everyone knew that. It took only a while more, but he located the boat. The smirk reappeared as he leapt aboard. He was getting closer and closer to his ultimate goal.

She was out there.

And she was his.

_**To Be Continued**_


	8. Chapter Eight

**Title:** La Vita Amara

**Author:** Kamel

**Pairing: **Haruka/Michiru

**Word Count: **3,900

**Genre:** Romance, Drama

**Rating:** PG-13

**Feedback:** Please and thank you.

**Notes:** All the cultural information based in this fic is from the knowledge I've acquired while spending my childhood summers in Italy (ten miles away from Porto Empedocle, Sicily to be exact).

**Summary:** AU Day in and day out in a small town in Sicily, Haruka, the fish mangler, provides for the people of Porto Empedocle – a boring old life which gets a twisted turn upon discovering a mermaid late one night by the name of Michiru.

**Chapter Eight**

The days had been long, she had predicted them to be, but she had always concluded that the wait would be worth it. This Haruka was different from the other human beings she had encountered. The two men, the idea of the two still sent shivers down her spine to this day – not so much the one they called Mamoru, but the other Mamoru referred to as Souichi. How could he disregard a close friend so easily? She did not understand human emotions nor did she want to attempt the task considering all these factors. Perhaps the strange behavior only occurred within the male portion of the race? Michiru was not sure, she had not been around humans, but apparently their female counter parts did not look much different; Haruka looked almost exactly like the two males, but her features were softer, more approachable.

She was just as intrigued in them as they were of her.

Their antics confused her, why did they need the massive metal contraption to venture out into the sea? Was that really more enjoyable than feeling the cool water in your hair or on your skin? There were so many questions she had, so many questions she wanted to ask. She would be able to voice her questions soon enough, according to Haruka, tonight was the evening they were to meet again and Michiru was positive Haruka was curious as well.

Planting her hands firmly against the sea rock that was poking its tip through the surface of the water, Michiru pulled herself up onto the rock and carefully lay down against her bare back. She brushed strands of her dripping wet aquamarine hair away from her face and shoulders as she relaxed, her sea colored eyes watching as the sun set into the horizon, appearing to dip into the sea itself.

When she was younger, Michiru believed the sun did just that. It was an illusion, she had learned the hard way, she had been stubborn, but she had been determined to, she was not even sure herself, catch the sun somehow before it could be put out in the ocean. She had raced towards the sunset countless of times in an attempt to reach the sun, but she never came close; though she would not admit it, it had been fun and to this day she would do so once in a blue moon.

They all had their quirks after all.

Her head jerked up, her ear leaning towards the sound of a rumbling contraption. Immediately, her heart began to race; she was nervous and, well, she did not fare well when these contraptions were on. They could only occupy the surface, Michiru knew, she would be safe underwater – she needed a safe distance away from those spinning blades. Carefully, she slipped herself back into the cool water and instantly dived beneath; swimming a great distance from the surface, not want to give the blades any chance to slice into her once more.

This was the moment the two creatures had been looking forward to since their first encounter (technically second, first involving a coherent conversation). Michiru's heart was beating so hard against her chest; she was amazed it had not exploded with anticipation by now. The rumbling on the contraption had turned into a loud roaring; it was right above her, one glance upward confirmed that bit of information. The roaring was dying down a bit, but she dared not move. Every muscle in her body remained frozen, that roaring of the blades was such a terrible sound, it brought up such horrible memories. Quietly, she waited for the roaring to turn into a soft rumbling before dying out a soft hum; even then she waited even further for the dead silence of the ocean to take over once again.

She could hear the mumbling of the familiar fish mangler's voice causing a smile to tug on her lips. Michiru kicked back off towards the surface, the handsome face of the human growing clearer and more beautiful as she reached the surface, the cool brisk air causing her cheeks to grow rosy. Haruka grinned, reaching down towards her. "You came," she murmured. In the back of her mind, the thought of Michiru not returning had crossed, but she tried her damnest to push it away; she was here now, that is what mattered.

"You came," Michiru repeated, grinning up at the other woman, bemused. She reached and took Haruka's slender hand into her own; her grin only grew when they fit into place perfectly. They were not much different from each other, Haruka just lacked the necessary scales and fins – she could not possibly be a good swimmer without them, this contraption had to bring her to and from the ocean after all.

"This is the only thing I've been looking forward to for days," Haruka admitted with a soft chuckle, running her thumb over the back of Michiru's soft fingers. "I really wanted to see you again."

Michiru reached the final conclusion that Haruka was extremely different from Mamoru, she was so much kinder; whenever the man would try to call for her, he sounded so forceful, his voice would be laced with malice, but not Haruka's. She was genuine. Mamoru had always murmured about wanting to prove to everyone he was not insane, that she did exist – he wanted to expose her, it was not rocket science; she did not want the whole world to know about her – her chance a peaceful existence could disappear if that were the case.

"You're different, Haruka," Michiru stated, tilting her head.

Stifling another chuckle, Haruka ran her free hand through her short boyish blonde hair. It was odd, being called different, out of the ordinary by, well, a mermaid – it definitely broke her sense of logic. "Is that compliment?" she asked, a tiny smirk playing on her thin lips.

"The humans I met before you, they seemed almost heartless – well, one of them did," Michiru corrected herself. "The other, his determination frightens me a little, but he has the potential of being a good being."

"Chiba and Tomoe? I mean – Mamoru and Souichi?" Haruka corrected herself, the smirk now morphing into a frown. "They both make me feel uneasy, not really a good representative for the human race," she pointed out, almost teasingly. Haruka shifted herself, pulling herself closer to the edge of the boat so they could hold onto each other hands with a bit more comfort and not with an over extended reach.

"You do seem better," the mermaid teased in return, she has a sense of humor - that was good. Michiru gently pulled her hand away from Haruka's; her arm was beginning to grow tired. She began to float on her back, arching it slightly; Haruka tried to keep her teal eyes locked with the aquamarine staring back up at her, but the bare breasts did make this task a bit difficult. Prince Eric was lucky Ariel had those shells; then again, that was a Disney movie.

Haruka snorted. "Better? I think I'm a bit duller if anything – I live with an old friend and I pretty much do this for a living, stay on this contraption."

"I don't think that's dull," Michiru stated honestly, shaking her head. "We have the best of both worlds, Haruka," she began, the way she spoke the fisherwoman's name made her shiver in the slightest. "You are able to venture the sea if you so wish and you can walk the land – I can't do that, I want to do that."

Admiration, the mermaid was offering her admiration.

"You want to walk on land?" Haruka asked, wanting for of an explanation, more clarification. If there was going to be an octopus lady involved, she was making a beeline directly back to the docks.

Michiru gave the other woman a slight nod as a response, her bright, hopeful eyes now staring up towards the starry night sky, towards the full silver moon. Her arms floated about aimlessly at her sides as she sighed, her gaze returning to Haruka. "Aren't you curious about the unknown?" she asked in return, trying to get the human to relate. "Such as… don't you ever wonder what things would be like on the moon?"

They knew how things were on the moon, but Haruka failed to mention this; she understood where Michiru was coming from nonetheless. It seems like humans were not the only living creatures who wanted to explore the unknown – and being on land was unknown as things could possibly get for Michiru apparently. It was not odd.

"To live the life of a human being, that's what I want – even for just one day, that's all I would need," Michiru went on, grinning grimly. "There's this plant I would like to see again – it was… a flower, I believe. Yellow in color."

"A sunflower?" Haruka guessed. They grew in great numbers in this country, fields of them, easily. They were harvested primarily for their oil, but the seeds were not too bad either. However, they grew in the mainland, not this island. "How do you know about them?"

"The straight in between this island and the main," Michiru replied. "Do you honestly think I just stay in this part of the ocean? It's a vast space, a majority of which I haven't explored yet – I found it floating away, a child must have dropped it overboard. I thought it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, I would like to see it… growing, in its natural habitat."

"I know I can't give you that," Haruka said. "But I can bring you another sunflower," she promised causing Michiru's face to light up almost at once. "On one condition," the fisher added. "Would you be able to find me an old Roman coin? I kind of promised a kid I'd give her the next one I find."

A small giggle parted from her lips as she swam back over to the edge of the boat, having drifted off a bit. "Only if you tell her a mermaid gave it to you," she replied with a wink.

Haruka sat up, still keeping her gaze over the edge of the boat to the wonder in front of her. She chuckled lightly at the condition, but nodded. "I'll tell her you searched long and hard."

**XXX**

"Now, if you are able to order at least fifty, I may be able to give you a discount via the company," Setsuna pointed out, pulling out the order form from the folder she had brought back from the shop to present to the Tomoe – technically, just Souichi being that Hotaru had earlier pulled out her iPod to entertain herself. This was extremely boring for a young child.

Souichi gazed down at the sheets of paper presented before him, frowning slightly as he attempted to concentrate. Pushing up his glasses along the bridge of his nose, he shrugged his shoulders before shaking his head. "I don't think we'll need that many-" he was cut off by the vibrating from his pants pocket. Hotaru advised him over and over again not to leave his cell phone in his pants pocket, it was awkward when he would reach for it – the weird wiggling and different angles; it was perfectly fine to carry the thing around.

"Excuse me for a moment," Souichi pardoned himself, standing up as he read the caller ID. "It's Mr. Burgio," he clarified, not wanting to seem rude, before heading out into the hallway. Setsuna recognized the surname; it was the dock's security man. He was a customer of Haruka's as well, his wife had a loving for fresh shrimp.

Had Hotaru not have had her iPod, she would have considering being in the same room as the woman who was crushing on her father to be a pretty awkward situation. Oh, she was well aware of the crushing, she could pick it up by the older woman's body language and tone when she spoke; she heard it many times before with other women as well. The young girl continued to stare off into space, focusing on the wall as she listened to her music.

But for Setsuna, she did not have anything to distract herself and she was beginning to feel out of place in her own apartment with Hotaru sitting across the couch from her. She cleared her throat slightly, a small attempt to get the child's attention. "Are you excited about your Confirmation, Hotaru?" she asked, leaning forward to rest her hands on her knees as she turned her head towards the girl's direction.

"It's alright," Hotaru answered plainly, her mind elsewhere.

Well, that definitely did not get the conversation going as Setsuna would have hoped for; the younger generation that was coming up, they were not really interested in the old traditions anymore – Setsuna should have concluded that from the overall demeanor Hotaru had been presenting throughout the evening. She was bored at looking at all these pictures of different glass/crystal figurines nor did she care what type of confetti they used, she just wanted all this out of the way so she could go home and enjoy the rest of the night they would have left. "Umm, what are you listening to?" Setsuna tried once more.

This time, Hotaru sighed slightly out of minor annoyance. Why did Haruka have to leave? She was having a slightly better time with Haruka around – Hotaru wanted to ask more questions about the vases they had in the other room, she wanted to know how exactly did Haruka found it and how she managed to drag them back to the apartment when doing so was considered illegal? Setsuna was not as interesting, how interesting did things in a party favor shop get anyway?

"Cest la Vie," the girl answered, pausing the track on her iPod, not wanting her music to be interrupted any further. She wanted to listen to the songs in peace, not while this woman played twenty questions with her. "By Minako Aino."

"Ah, is she the blonde woman that's really famous right now?" Setsuna in turn questioned once more.

Hotaru nodded as Souichi came back into the living room; Hotaru was grateful for his return, he would be able to occupy Setsuna. Souichi tucked his cell phone back within his pants pocket. "That was the guard at the port – my boat is missing," he informed, frowning. "I'm sorry, I'm going to need to get down to the ports – come on, Hotaru. Setsuna, obviously there has been an increase in crime in the area, would it be too much if I asked you to come along? For your own safety?" he asked.

Souichi was in the right state of mind, this was an older part of town; the buildings were much easier to break into without a sweat and this apartment was no different. Haruka had done it once or twice when she forgot her key, not to mention Setsuna did not practically enjoy being alone either, she accepted the invitation as she placed all the catalogs and folders aside on the coffee table before standing up herself.

After securing the apartment as secure as it was going to be anyway, the three of them headed down the numerous flights of stairs – the building was built years ago, no elevator, no chance of one being installed, it would not be supported. Setsuna and Haruka overlooked that fact, it was decent exercise, running up and down the stairs every day, they had concluded. They had poured into Souichi's imported German Mercedes and were quickly on their way to the docks. He pulled up next to Haruka's tiny trunk where a rather plump man handling a flashlight was waiting for them.

"Mr. Burgio," Souichi greeted, shaking the man's hand.

"Dr. Tomoe," the gruff man replied, nodding as he shook the doctor's hand. "I didn't notice 'til he was pulling out of the harbor – I believed it was he, he had short hair, but that doesn't prove anything things days, look at Tenoh for explain," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "It was hard to make him out, but it looked like he had to be somewhere really important the way he speed out of here."

Souichi's frown only continued to grow as he shook his head. Hotaru's eyebrows immediately rose as she turned to her father. "Papa, we only have two sets of keys," she spoke up. "One in the bank and one in your home office."

Being that it was Sunday, the banks had been closed all day. Not to mention there would have been a big commotion if someone had managed to successfully rob the bank – not with all the tight security employed there. That left only one possible outcome, one that sent shivers down Souichi's back. The idea of someone breaking into his house and searching his belongings made him sick. Who would have the nerve? Whoever it was, they knew where to look. Souichi nearly froze in place. "Mamoru," he stated, looking up at Setsuna and Mr. Burgio.

"The nutjob?" Mr. Burgio questioned, raising an eyebrow. "What would he want with your boat, Dr. Tomoe?"

"To prove me wrong about this whole mermaid existence," Souichi replied, the anger rising in his voice as he threw a hand up in the air. "He's not stable, who knows what he'll do out there-"

"Haruka's out there," Setsuna said, worried.

Mr. Burgio dug into his pockets, pulling out a set of keys to hand to Souichi. "We'll take the security boat, maybe we can talk some sense into him," he stated, gesturing over his shoulder.

Souichi nodded, handing off his cell phone to Setsuna. "Stay here with Hotaru – call the police," he advised, also giving her his car keys. "Go in the car, we'll be back as soon as possible.

**XXX**

The two were laughing, enjoying the conversation they had both took part in; they were enjoying each other's company, asking questions they wanted answers for about each other – what was life really like on land and, well, what was life like for a mermaid in return. They were both thoroughly intrigued by the other. Michiru was the first to stop laughing, the first to grow serious. Her aquamarine eyes narrowed as she looked off to the distance, towards the general direction of the land. Haruka caught on to her worried stare a moment later.

"What's wrong?" the fisherwoman asked, her eyebrows furrowing as she wondered what would have caused the drastic change in Michiru's features. Had Haruka accidentally said something to often her? If she had, she meant nothing by it at all – how would you offend a mermaid anyway?

Michiru sunk her shoulders below the water's surface, a slight fear rising up within her. "There's another boat heading this way," she stated, her voice a bit lower than what it had been only moments before in their discussion. The light, cheerfulness of it had disappeared entirely.

"Another boat?" Haruka questioned, repeating what Michiru had told her. Yes, she had gotten the creature to call it a 'boat' instead of a contraption, thought she still did not fully understand the purpose of it now that she knew these humans were capable of swimming, as horrible as they were at it. Haruka pointed out they lack the certain fins that would make them even consider not using these gas guzzling contraptions – then she had to explain the whole purpose of gasoline and how it made engines run. It was a discussion she enjoyed, but noticed Michiru had grown dull of it, she was not really interested in engines or how these boats worked.

It was faint, but Michiru could hear the noise she could not stand for reasons known to her and now Haruka. A chill ran up and down her spine, she could still feel the blades of the engine slicing into her flesh, the blood oozing out, stinging from the sea salt as she tried to swim away. She nodded back in return, confirming what she heard, there was no mistaking it, not for Michiru. "It's heading directly for us and fast."

"Hide – under my boat," Haruka advised, standing up, knowing she was probably asking a lot from the girl. Yes, she was a girl, it was the first time Haruka considered her as such – the only difference between them was the fact that she had, well, fins instead of legs. "I promise I won't turn it on, you'll be able to hear me right? When I say run, for whatever reason, get away from here, okay?" She wanted Michiru to be safe, at the same time she wanted to continue their talk, it was too early to call it quits. She would get rid of whoever the hell it was taking out a boat for a joy ride. That was the only reason Haruka could come up with why someone would be out this late at night. It was still technically Sunday night, the fishers did not work on Sunday's like a majority of the town; they needed a break as well.

Michiru could hear it in Haruka's voice, the need to protect her. Once more, she nodded and dived below the water. Haruka climbed back over the edge of the boat and walked over to the end, her eyes narrowed. Just as Michiru had said, she could make out a faint outline of a boat drawing towards them. Moments later, Haruka could confirm it was the sports boat belonging to Dr. Tomoe – what reason would he have being out here at sea so late? Why was he not back at the apartment with Setsuna?

The boat pulled up next to hers and Haruka had been wrong. It was not Souichi. The man on boat did not have the doctor's firm figure or posture at all. He was scrawny, leaning forward slightly as if he almost had a hump on his back. He did not wear glasses and his hair was shades too dark to be the doctor's. The dull blue eyes, however, confirmed who is was. "Mamoru? What are you doing-"

Haruka was cut off as the man stood up from the wheel, pointing a handgun directly at her causing teal eyes to at first grow wide before narrowing. Fists formed at her sides, she was not sure why, what good would they do against a bullet? "She exists!" he shouted, jabbing the gun forward. That is why this woman was out here this late; she knew of Michiru, she knew of the mermaid. "I'm going to prove to all of you I'm not crazy," he growled.

_**To Be Continued**_


	9. Chapter Nine

**Title:** La Vita Amara

**Author:** Kamel

**Pairing: **Haruka/Michiru

**Word Count: **4,500

**Genre:** Romance, Drama

**Rating:** PG-13

**Feedback:** Please and thank you.

**Notes:** All the cultural information based in this fic is from the knowledge I've acquired while spending my childhood summers in Italy (ten miles away from Porto Empedocle, Sicily to be exact).

**Summary:** AU Day in and day out in a small town in Sicily, Haruka, the fish mangler, provides for the people of Porto Empedocle – a boring old life which gets a twisted turn upon discovering a mermaid late one night by the name of Michiru.

**Chapter Nine**

Haruka Tenoh was not easily scared, she had challenged fate many times before – the sea was a dangerous place, especially during a horrid thunder storm; it was a situation she could now go to the bar with and laugh off with the other manglers as they shared their ridiculous stories. This, however, Haruka had a horrible gut feeling that there was a chance she would not be able to laugh over this if she took one wrong little step. This was not the violent sea or the wild wind which she had mastered, this was a loaded with ammunition gun pointed directly at her in the hands of a lunatic.

Maybe it was an automatic reaction, Haruka would not know not having been point blank with a gun before, but her hands slowly went up in the arm as if to prove she was in no way dangerous and there was really no need for the weapon. However, she did seriously doubt Mamoru would lower his weapon simply because she held her arms up.

"Mamoru," she said in a firm, yet relatively soft tone. She could not arouse him. If she provoked him now, everything would be over; it was as simple as that. "You don't want to do something you'll regret, think of Usagi – think of your daughter," she tried to reason. If he did something stupid now, he would not be able to see them every again – not that he had been seeing much of them since they left Porto Empedocle, but that knowledge and most of her other forms of knowledge had fled Haruka.

"Both have been taken from me because of people like you!" Mamoru snapped back, jabbing the gun forward towards the woman on the other boat. The sudden action cause Haruka to flinch. Damn, it would cause even the toughest of all people to flinch. This was a gun they were dealing with and, well, Haruka was not Superman. Bullets would not bounce off her chest. "Society has labeled me, what was it now? The town nut job, the town crazy – people like you drove Usako away from me. I'll prove it, prove to you all I'm not crazy! Michiru exists!"

Hearing her name, Michiru's head jerked up slightly, casting her aquamarine eyes up towards the bottom of the newly arrived boat; she had been extremely nervous to be so close to one with its engine on, but she remained still just as Haruka had asked. The new voice, it was his voice – the man she had seen years ago, the man with the strange friend, the man with the strange intentions she could not figure out. She could also hear the worried tone in Haruka's voice, temptation told her to discover for herself what was going on, it was an inner battle to stay hidden.

"I never once called you-" Haruka's voice was cut off by his raging. She should not try attempting to lie to him again.

"You denied her existence in the market place!" Mamoru spat, a small hysterical laugh escaped him as his now vibrant blue eyes stared her down. She thought he would not be able to remember, but he did – he remember that day clearly; they were swordfish scales, she claimed before walking away. He felt empowered for the first time in ages. For the first time in a long time, no one was looking down at him making crude remarks. "You said she doesn't exist, you said you didn't have time for my 'stories!'"

She could feel the pace of her heart speeding up, beating rapidly against her chest as she tried to stay rational even though she was completely sure Mamoru would not be himself. She could not lie to him, that would set him off, she was sure of it. Her teal eyes trailed a bit to the floor of the boat where a harpoon laid amidst. No good. Biting down on her lip, Haruka forced herself to look back up towards him.

"You walked away, laughing, didn't you, Haruka, didn't you!?" Mamoru shouted, walking over to the edge of the stolen boat to put himself closer to the woman. He wanted to hear her admit it, he wanted to hear that she was condemned him just like every other damn person in this forsaken town. "Who's laughing now, mangler?" he asked, a laugh forming in the back of his throat as he squeezed the trigger of the gun.

Hearing the loud bang from up above, Michiru felt every little hair on the back of her neck stand on end; something happened, something bad and she wanted to get to the surface to make sure Haruka was alright, but… Mamoru, he would be instantly on her. He was out there and she was his prize, he would harm her and that was something Haruka did not want in the first place, that was why she was instructed to hide she had to remind herself.

Everything was happening in slow motion; it made Haruka sick to her stomach. She saw the explosion of smoke from the gun and gut instinct made immediately dive onto her stomach. However, she hit the ground feeling a sneering pain erupting from her lower abdomen which automatically caused her hand to fly to the teeth grinding pain. Oozing through between her tight slender fingers was a deeply colored warm liquid, causing her mind to race; she was in the middle of the ocean, alone. There was no way in hell – what was he doing?

Fading teal eyes narrowed as she heard the edge of his boat collide into her own, no doubt damaging the paintjob a little, but she had bigger things to be worrying about right now – the bullet in her side, for instance, would be one of them.

All hell broke loose from within her, hearing Haruka tumble to the floor of the boat after the shoot that rang for violently through her ears. Michiru sprung up to the surface, screaming the female human being's name, panic rising in her voice when she realized she could not see Haruka for herself, not with her own eyes. Damn this stupid contraption, even if she managed to get on board, what would guarantee the fact she would be able to return to her beloved ocean, but…

Haruka was beloved too.

"Michiru!"

That sickening voice.

His voice.

It caused the same reaction in both women who immediately froze in place. Michiru whirled around in the water, gazing up towards the wicked man who was now chuckling faintly – a chuckling that developed into a deep, from the stomach laugh as he arched his head back. The next thing she knew, he had the weapon aimed at her. "I'm going to prove to the world you exist," he stated firmly, his eyebrows narrowing with determination.

He was going to hurt her.

Mamoru was going to hurt Michiru.

Haruka was not going to allow it.

With all her might, she tried to stand onto her feet, but with no avail was she able to. What was wrong with her? No, she did not have the time to think or muse about this now, not with a loaded hand gun pointed directly at the creature she carved for; Michiru was not about to be harmed while she was with her. Her shaky, blood covered hand wrapped around the harpoon tightly. She was just able to peer over the edge of the boat, Mamoru was focusing on the mermaid. Damn him. Summoning her courage, her last amount of will power, with every force embedded within her body, the fish mangler threw the harpoon at Mamoru.

The sharp edge of the harpoon pierced his loaded arm, causing him to step back and wildly swing the appendage in surprise. The gun went off towards the starry night sky; Michiru took the opportunity to dive once more. Haruka collapsed onto the wooden deck, her body frail and weak. "Run, Michi," she murmured against the salty floor. She would sell her soul to the devil if it meant having another chance to see the beautiful creature once more, alive. What were the odds of that happening in this lifetime? It would be too late when someone finally did discover her boat floating aimlessly at sea.

Or that is what she believed anyway.

All of a sudden, Haruka felt very heavy, her vision was darkening. She was not able to see, nor hear another boat speed towards their general direction. She was not aware of Souichi's or Mr. Burgio's arrival or the fact it took both men to sedated Mamoru nor that they took her aboard to race back to the docks before seeking immediate medical attention. There was a blank in Haruka's memory from the point she had thrown the harpoon until she had awoken to a grief stricken roommate at her bedside in the hospital.

"Oh, thank God you're awake."

The amount of worry and relief all mixed together was foreign to Haruka – yes, Setsuna had been worried about her on more than one occasion, but this time was very much different; this time she could have easily lost her dear friend.

Haruka cracked a small smile, as if trying to reassure that she was alright. "I feel like I've been hit by a bus," the sandy blonde haired woman replied, with a chuckle that made her wince. She was still in pain, not as great as before, but still suffering. "What happened?"

Setsuna did her best to attempt to ramble off what the doctors had told her, what Souichi tried to help her to understand, but Haruka was never one for medical jargon. However, she understood the terms 'paralysis from the waist down,' something to do with the vertebrae. "But," Setsuna spoke up, catching Haruka's attention once more. She could tell her roommate's mind was elsewhere, this was a lot of both of them to take in at once. "There is a chance, with rehab, that you'll be able to walk again."

"I'm not going to be stuck in a wheelchair forever then?"

That would be the ultimate punishment for Haruka, to be confined against her will. Haruka was a creature who needed to be free; nothing could, or should be able to hold her down. She needed to hear Setsuna say that this would not be forever; she needed to hear that the period of being helpless without aiding to move would have an end. She needed to hear that she would be able to return to her boat, to the ocean and to Michiru.

Setsuna shook her head, believing Haruka was taking this well, much better than what she would have expected, what she had braced herself for. A sigh escaped her as her shoulders fell slightly, maroon colored eyes locking with teal for a moment. "Why were you out there anyway?"

"A job-"

"A job," Setsuna repeated. "They say your equipment hadn't been touched."

"Who told you that?" Haruka questioned right back.

"Souichi."

That name. It still made her skin crawl and anger rise within her. He had touched her boat, her boat was precious to her; it was her gateway to the ocean, a gateway to freedom. She was peaceful out at sea, she was able to be herself and he soiled that. She did not enjoy the fact he was involved in all this, but Haruka should have expected it – he was the reason why Mamoru lost all his sanity to begin with. He was the reason why she laid here in this bed unable to walk on her own. This was his entire fault.

Haruka shook her head as her hands grasped the blanket to the uncomfortable hospital bed, forming fists. Why were these beds always uncomfortable – no, that did not matter right now. "Why was he near my boat?" she demanded.

"Don't get yourself worked up, Haruka," Setsuna said gently, standing up. She took the few steps over to her roommate's bedside. "You should be resting, you just came out of surgery-"

"Tell me why he was going through the equipment on my boat," Haruka repeated more thoroughly.

Setsuna was taken back slightly, she knew if she withheld the information, it would only further bother Haruka and she did not need that right now. Right now, per doctor's request (along with Souichi's, but she did not need to know that exactly), Haruka needed to get some rest and allow her body the time to heal; this was going to be a challenge for all of them. "He helped you get off the boat while you were in the middle of the ocean," she replied. "He was with the security guard because Mamoru had stolen his own boat, he saw that you were hurt and he had to help you."

That boat had belonged to Souichi; he was tied to everything, was he not? In Haruka's mind, this was clearly all his fault. Setsuna watched Haruka turned her head away from her; she was focusing on the different machines she was currently hooked up to. It was clear she did not want to talk, but Setsuna still wanted to know what purpose she had to venture off in the ocean in the middle of the night if it was not for work as she had informed before leaving the apartment. This was not a good time, Haruka had to recover; the truth would come out eventually. "You should get some rest," she noted, scooting towards the door of the room. "I'll be out in the waiting room."

Haruka did not bother to look up at her again; Setsuna nodded to herself and quickly stepped out of the room, not able to handle the building tension between them any longer. She took her time walking back to the waiting room, wanting to give herself her own time to think things over. Haruka was hiding something from her. Of course, everyone had their secrets, but when those secrets lead to horrible events such as this one – it was not worth keeping the secret all to yourself in Setsuna's opinion.

The waiting room was occupied by two familiar faces. Souichi was sitting up, resting his chin against his fist which was propped up by his elbow while his other arm wrapped around the sleeping figure of Hotaru; they had not been home since arriving at the apartment. Souichi wanted to be by Setsuna's side, to make sure that not only she would be alright, but Haruka as well. He was overlooking her case, something Setsuna failed to mention to the patient in question.

"Souichi, you should have taken her home," Setsuna stated, gesturing her head towards Hotaru as she sat down across from the father-daughter figure.

The good doctor, however, shook his head. "The security of my home is lacking, I wouldn't feel safe leaving Hotaru in the house without me there," he replied. It was not that he did not trust their cleaning lady, but he was protective of his only daughter and the fact Mamoru had managed to get in shook him. "And if something had happened to Haruka while I was away, I would feel rather guilty."

"None of this is your fault," Setsuna reassured. "You can't blame yourself for Mamoru's actions."

"That's very kind of you, but, Setsuna, you have to look at the bigger picture," Souichi replied, shaking his head. "Mamoru knew exactly what he was looking for in my house, he knew exactly where my boat was; he was following the stupid mermaid story he put together years ago and in the end, he could have killed Haruka. I should have admitted him years ago."

"There's no way you could have known-"

"This is going to take a while long, Setsuna, why don't you get some rest yourself?" Souichi offered. "You have slept at all and Hotaru could really use a bed, it's not healthy for you to pull all nighters."

"What about yourself, Souichi?" Setsuna asked in return, not skipping a beat.

She was sharp, he could say that much. "I'm a doctor, I've been on call, spent countless nights without sleep; I like to think I'm quite use to this, but I will catch a nap here, I promise," Souichi answered, digging the keys to his Benz out from her coat pocket. "This will be better for all of us."

Naturally, Setsuna wanted to argue, she wanted to be here for her friend also, but Souichi had a point. This had been a long night for all of them; Setsuna was literally completely useless here. Haruka was in good care and the waiting room chair was not comfortable for a child to sleep in. After a heavy sigh, she took the key from his grasp and nodded. "Alright, I'll take Hotaru over to the apartment. We'll be back after lunch."

"Thank you," Souichi answered with a faint grin.

**XXX**

He waited a couple of hours before checking up on Haruka. Needless to say, the woman needed rest from the incident and Souichi was long overdue for a couple of hours of sleep as well; it had been a horribly eventful night, one they probably all wanted to forget. He stood outside the patient's door for a few moments, gathering the necessary courage – this was rare for Souichi, but Haruka was not like any other patient he had had. Haruka's was close to someone he cared for, he felt obligated that she received the best care, and he was not even sure where he even stood with her. He had the feeling he was a bit disliked.

This was it, he promised Setsuna.

Before entering, of course, Souichi rapped his knuckles against the wooden door. Stepping in, he adjusted his coat, stuffing his hands into coat pockets. Haruka turned her gaze from the window towards Souichi, immediately her gaze turned hard. What could he possibly want with her? "What are you doing here?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowing. "You're not my primary physician."

"No, I'm not," Souichi established with a single nod.

At least they were on the same page. With that settled, Haruka turned her attention back towards the window. Her room was facing the mountains; she would have preferred the ocean. Michiru… where was she now? What was she thinking? Haruka listened for the shuffling of feet and the closing of the door, but those sounds never came; Souichi had remained in the room. "Why are you in here?"

"I promised Setsuna I would watch over your case as well," Souichi answered honestly. "She's really worried about you, we all are – your injuries-"

"I was explained the extent of my injuries," Haruka murmured coldly, her wicked gaze returning to him once more. Just his presence was testing her nerves, it was quite the feat.

His shoulders fell slightly; this was not easy, not with Haruka's horrible attitude getting in the way. "Listen, this is going to set you and Setsuna back financial for a while," Souichi pointed out. "You'll be out of work until you're back on your feet and then some, rehab will not be easy and the expenses – I've offered my home until you two can get back on your feet."

"We don't need your charity, Tomoe," Haruka retorted.

"Charity? Haruka, I don't want to see you two out on the streets – how will you be able to keep your apartment with just the party favor shop as income? Setsuna's told me business isn't as good as it could be right now," Souichi replied, keeping a calm tone. He did not want to hit below the belt and bring Haruka crashing down into reality, but… "How do you plan on climbing all those flights of stairs in a wheelchair?"

Haruka's nose wrinkled, he had a point, even though she refused to address it. Though she would rather drag herself up all those flights of stairs before she would live with the Tomoe's – she was stubborn. "Answer me this," she said in a low voice, locking her eyes with his. "Michiru. You've seen her. Haven't you?"

"That's Mamoru's idiotic tale-"

"Tomoe," she hissed.

"You saw what happened to Mamoru," Souichi replied, lowering his chin, causing his silver hair to fall forward over his glasses. "His story, look where it landed him – she's nothing but trouble, isn't it? You've seen her herself."

"Nothing but trouble?" Haruka repeated. "She's completely innocent, it was Mamoru who held the gun, not her," she pointed out. "I don't regret meeting her, she's amazing."

"That's how Mamoru felt."

"I won't end up like Mamoru, I don't want to expose her," Haruka remarked, she refused to be compared to that monster, she was different from Mamoru, she was. "She wants to know what life is like up here, she's just curious, but she's afraid, afraid she'll get hurt again by your… 'contraption.'"

Souichi shook his head as he pushed the bridge of his glasses up his nose. "That was an accident that I, myself, regret, Haruka. I would have helped her if I could, but… I'm a doctor, a human doctor. I'm amazed she survived, she's a tough spirit," he commented. "You'll see her again in time, no doubt, but you must recover first. Over doing it will only cause more harm, you'll be more relaxed if you and Setsuna stay at my place. The garage has been re-done, everything one could possibly need it down there – it's literally another small complex all together and it will be easily accessible with a wheelchair."

"Sheesh, I'm not getting out of this one, am I?" Haruka murmured, shaking her head slowly. "Setsuna's probably already packing," she added, shrugging her shoulders. "But the moment we're able to afford the apartment again, we're out of there."

A small chuckle escaped Souichi. "I guess we've reached a deal, Ms. Tenoh."

**XXX**

"Are you going to explain to me this time why we always buy sunflowers?" Hotaru asked, gently pushing Haruka along the sidewalk towards the docks. This had been there little thing ever since Haruka got out of the hospital a few weeks ago. Every Wednesday during the street market, they would go to the small flower shop and order a batch of sunflowers – the best, the brightest sunflowers the shop had, a batch that would enlighten any room within the house, especially the garage, but every week, it was the same. They would toss the sunflowers, one by one into the sea from the edge of the longest dock where they could be alone. Hotaru found it odd.

A sly grin overcame Haruka as she brought this week's batch up to her nose to inhale the sweet scent. She shook her head as the scent of seaweed over came the sunflowers, they were entering the docks. It was odd only being able to come here once a week, not being able to board her boat and just take off whenever she pleased.

"I thought I already told you," the former fisherwoman replied, arching an eyebrow as she gazed over her shoulder at the young girl. "It's like the whole message in a bottle concept – I'm hoping it's reaching someone that will, in return, do a favor for me."

"But I don't understand why we use sunflowers instead of a message in a bottle," Hotaru stated. "What does a sunflower symbolize?"

"Hey now, I think you ask too many questions," Haruka chuckled as they headed down the long dock to overlook the ocean. "I bet you this is the week I get something in return."

Hotaru's eyebrows furrowed at the remark. "And what are you expecting in return? Roses?" she asked, half serious.

"Lilies," Haruka corrected, bemused. Confusing Hotaru had proved to be entertaining, she was a good kid. The girl made it a point to spend nearly all her free time downstairs in her studio-like garage with Haruka so she 'would not grow bored.' She was thoughtful.

The young girl positioned the wheelchair near the edge of the dock, where she had always positioned Haruka week after week. Haruka began to remove the aluminum foil from the stems of the sunflowers before handing one over to Hotaru and picking one for herself. "After you," she offered, gesturing towards the water. Hotaru grinned and with a nod, she tossed the flower over the dock – Haruka followed suit, this process repeated for another ten flowers until the batch was no more.

Haruka lowered her head and crumpled the aluminum foil in her hands into a tight ball. "Hmm?" Something on the wooden floor caught her eye, it was a gleam and it caused her to look down. A faint smile tugged on her lips as she turned to Hotaru. "You remember that Roman coin I promised you?" she asked.

Hotaru leaned over gently on the handle of the wheelchair at Haruka's question and nodded. The fish mangler had promised the next coin she would find would be hers, but due to Haruka's condition, Hotaru had let go of the promise, but the grin on her face made her question that last statement. The blonde haired woman gestured towards the ground, towards the single Roman coin resting upon the edge of the wooden dock.

Though she was confused as to how the coin had magically appeared, Hotaru still could not help but grin widely, astonished by their luck. She walked over and knelt down to pick up her own piece of history. Haruka turned back to the sea, watching the sunflowers floating away. In the distance, it was hard to see, but she swore she saw one of the flowers being pulled below the surface.

**XXX**

Aquamarine eyes had been watching the flowers float week after week. At first, she thought it was just chance, but when they kept appearing, she knew what was happening and she did her best to find that coin she had promised in return. Michiru reached up to the water's surface and brought one of the flowers down below to admire. She held it against her chest, closing her eyes tightly. A single statement was uttered from between her soft lips, the soft lips that had brushed against the woman's she had come to adore.

"Life is bitter…"

_**The End.**_


End file.
